I saw on Facebook a comment from a friend as a reminder that we need to walk the walk, not talk the talk.

She asked: “How can people who call themselves Christians deliberately and repeatedly mistreat a fellow Christian?”

Now, I know this person well. She has a degree in Bible, is a mature Christian, and knows the answer to the question. I worked with her for several years at a Christian school, so I know she knows the answer. The question was posed (in my humble, but perceptive opinion) as a reminder that we need to take stock of ourselves and our behavior and ask, once again, if love (for God and others) is the dominant motivation in our lives and if its expression is visibly evident in our lives. I offer this blog post, not as an explanation which she needs to hear, but, in the spirit of her question, as a reminder of the need we all have to constantly check our motives, examine our thoughts, and control our actions. Thoughtless words and deeds have caused more damage to the mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being of people than all the natural disasters combined have ravaged the landscape. And I must add (reluctantly and remorsefully) that I have been found guilty of such behavior.

Of course, we all are tempted, from time to time, to express an unloving or unkind attitude, word, or action. Saying that we are human doesn’t justify these, but does explain them. There are persons and personalities who constantly grate on us, like sandpaper on wood. Although they may not understand and although we may not be aware of it, this work of friction is not necessarily a bad thing (Proverbs 27:17 ESV:   Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.) It is easy to love a lovely person, but the test of love comes when we are confronted with the need to love the unlovely. Any of us can be at ease with those like us, but can we find the courage to reach out to those who are different?

Two key phrases stand out in her question. “People who call themselves Christians” reminds me that words are cheap. People in the media, in business, and in all of life are constantly making claims of one sort or another. Although I often chuckle at the various prescription drug advertisements I see on TV, I realize that they may be the most honest form of advertising, since they spend a couple of sentences explaining the glorious benefits of this miracle medication, and several paragraphs and most of the commercial explaining the possible disastrous side effects. Again, words are cheap and our claims are not necessarily a reflection of reality. (Proverbs 27:19 ESV:   As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.) It’s not who you say you are that makes you who you are. It is who you are in your actions that defines you, because what comes out of us is a reflection of our heart (Jesus taught this – Matthew 15:18-20). We all have this view of ourselves that often needs adjusting (we call it a mirror, and it is brutal in its honesty). The Christian’s mirror is the Word of God (see James 1:21-25).

“Deliberately and repeatedly” are serious accusations that, if true, spell real trouble for the troublemakers. If there is anything the Apostle John has to teach us (in agreement with all of Scripture), it’s that the expression of love in our lives is one evidence that the God of love is at work in us. If that love is absent in those who make the claim that they know Him, then that claim is false.

1 John 4:20 ESV:    If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

We can’t judge the heart of the unloving, but we can discern and condemn the actions of the unloving. It’s time that we lovingly challenge and rebuke the unloving actions of fellow believers. It seems to me this is the only loving response we can make to such behavior.