Theology for Everybody: RomansSample

Rebels With a Cause: Trade Good for Evil?

In Romans 12:9–21, Paul writes a collection of short, pointed phrases about how to live and treat others in a godly fashion. The text reads like a family statement. God is our Father, we are His children, and He tells us how He wants His family to operate.

The principles Paul lays out in this section will be tested and tried under two circumstances: difficult seasons and difficult relationships. You will be offended or hurt, or at times, something you don’t like will be said or done. At other times, you will take up offenses for others with concerns, problems, or pains. God never has anything good to say about taking up an offense. When you do so, you join with someone who has a problem, making it an even bigger problem.

The apostle begins in verse 9: “Let love be genuine.” Love can be genuine or disingenuous. People will say and do things that look loving, but they are really manipulating and controlling. They seek not to do what is in your best interest but to gain your trust so they can take advantage of you and do what is in their own best interest. That is disingenuous love.

Sometimes disingenuous love comes in the form of flattery. Flatterers will tell you how great you are so they can manipulate you for their ends. Perhaps the worst of all is the disingenuous love of religious people. Religious people will say religious words that sound loving and do religious deeds that look loving, but as Jesus said, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8).

The evening before Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He went to the Garden of Gethsemane with most of his disciples. Jesus was anxious and dismayed: “His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). The disciples tried to stay awake and pray for their Master, but they kept falling asleep. However, one disciple was wide awake and approached Jesus with a kiss. A kiss was a welcome greeting in Jewish culture, and an onlooker might have thought, Oh, these two men must be friends. But the kiss was not a kiss of friendship; the disciple was not Jesus’ friend. No, the disciple was Judas Iscariot, Jesus’ betrayer. Outwardly, Judas looked loving, but inwardly he was evil and conniving.

Be wary of people who start very quickly with intense passion, affection, devotion, love, and expectation. Their hearts are often not in the same place as their words or deeds would indicate.

Love is doing what is in the best interest of someone else, even at your own expense. Love is sometimes what we feel but always what we do. Love is sometimes an emotion but always an action. That’s why Jesus says we can love our enemies. Do we feel like loving our enemies? Of course not. But we can override our feelings with obedience of the will, and that’s ultimately what love is. Love is doing what God says even when you’re not feeling what He says.

Today’s Reflection

How can you genuinely love your enemies?