In this
election year here in the United States, a commonly heard phrase is “Why should
I vote? What difference will my one vote make in a national or even state
election?” One vote among one hundred and seventy-five million can seem very
small and insignificant indeed.
The Apostle
Paul reminds us, however, our greatest obligation is not how we affect national
or state affairs, but how we affect the lives of those we see each day.
Rom
12:9-21 Love must be completely sincere. Hate what is evil, hold on to what is
good. Love one another warmly as Christians, and be eager to show respect for
one another. Work hard and do not be lazy. Serve the Lord with a heart full of
devotion. Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray
at all times.
Share your belongings with your needy
fellow Christians, and open your homes to strangers. Ask God to bless those who
persecute you---yes, ask him to bless, not to curse. Be happy with those who
are happy, weep with those who weep. Have the same concern for everyone. Do not
be proud, but accept humble duties. Do not think of yourselves as wise.
If someone has done you wrong, do not
repay him with a wrong. Try to do what everyone considers to be good. Do
everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody. Never take
revenge, my friends, but instead let God's anger do it. For the scripture says,
"I will take revenge, I will pay back, says the Lord."
Instead, as the scripture says: "If
your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them a drink; for
by doing this you will make them burn with shame." Do not let evil defeat
you; instead, conquer evil with good.
The older I
get the more importance this passage carries for me. It does not focus upon a
Christian’s responsibility to change the world. Its entire focus is upon the
necessity of individuals to impact in a positive way the small circle in which
they live, move, and relate. Paul makes no argument for marching on the
national capital. Rather he emphasizes the importance of relating to our next
door neighbor with a spirit of love and redemption.
Early in my
ministry I began to use this passage in pre-marital counseling. The text was
written by an individual to one congregation or more, perhaps to be read by
many. Yet how many relationships between husbands and wives, between neighbors,
as well as between individual church members would be enriched by living out
these words of encouragement.
I called
them “divine nuggets of wisdom”. Each phrase could be taken as an individual
statement of counsel. Each phrase touches upon an area of life important in
human relationships. Of course our nation and world would be a much happier and
fulfilling arena of life if, for instance, each of us sought to “do everything
possible on your part to live in peace with everybody.” Until that day comes
each of us in our own small world of relationships should seek to do the same.
We must not
wait until dictators, emperors, kings, and presidents start to act live
civilized human beings who do not live by the laws of fang and claw. Our
actions may not change the greater world, but in our own realm of
relationships, when we live by the laws of love and redemption, we can make a
difference in the lives of those we touch each day.
It is not a
trite phrase to believe in the strength of goodness. A not so old proverb says,
“In the long run, good will always beat evil because good is better.” If we
believe good is grounded in the very nature of divine love that demands
obedience and simultaneously provides the grace to make that obedience possible
and then the forgiveness when obedience fails, then we will be that influence
that looks so small to the world but so big to those closest to us.
