family

Wearied, as everyone is, by endless post-election rhetoric, little of it loving or even friendly, I was struck this morning by some outstanding relational guidance from Paul to Timothy. In 1 Timothy 5:1-2 he says, “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.”

What a great concept – let’s just treat everyone we meet like family! Talk to them the same way you would your father, mother, sister or brother!

I know, a lot of us can be pretty snarky with our family, but we don’t really mean it. And as much as we might criticize them, no one else better. We defend them against all outsiders.

So what if there were no outsiders? What if we defended everyone? What if we reasoned respectfully with mature men? What if we cherished and heeded women just like we do our moms? What if young men and women were given the help and protection we give our brothers and sisters?

I can tell you what wouldn’t happen – we wouldn’t flip people off anymore, or flame them on social media. We wouldn’t think it was OK to leer at pretty women, or make those innuendo-laced comments to waitresses or barmaids. We’d head off self-destructive behavior as soon as we noticed it. Abuses of all kinds would pretty much come to an end. 

And we wouldn’t stand by while other people are treated badly because of their gender, skin-color, abilities, or even beliefs. Especially beliefs. Christians know that beliefs are important, and that getting them right is literally a matter of life and death. But we’re the ones who also know that what Jesus modeled for us is to lovingly persuade people who aren’t thinking right. 

When I was a boy divorce was unusual, and we tended to judge those who divorced quite harshly. Then all of us had it happen within our families, and we saw the reasons it happened and the anguish it caused. All of a sudden we couldn’t just turn our backs on them, and our graciousness toward a group of people was greatly increased.

We need, Paul says, to treat everyone that way. In the church, sure, but outside the church too. In the church this guidance deals with how we resolve our differences and do mission together. Outside the church, it’s great advice on how to love people who think differently. Instead of writing them off, or condemning them with harsh language, we should work with them  like we would a wayward brother or sister.

Even if they were dumb enough to vote red, or blue, or third-party, or not at all.