"He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.
But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another."
1 Thessalonians 4:8-9
This is a good lesson. The part that struck me today is the idea that if we despise anyone, we are really despising God. That's kind of a scary thought... but also a very important one, letting us know how much the two great commandments are wrapped up in each other.
We can't truly love God without loving other people... and we can't learn to love people in a Christlike way without help from God in teaching us what love truly is. That's why Christ tells us "... if ye shall come unto me, or shall desire to come unto me, and rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee—Go thy way unto thy brother, and first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come unto me..." (3 Nephi 12:23-24). Not loving other people gets in the way of loving God.
Today, to show that we don't despise God, let's work really hard on not despising anyone else either. :) It's tough sometimes, and we're going to have all kinds of justifications for why someone is worth despising... but let's let go of the justifications and realize that we need to change. Let's make a real effort to learn to love, both God and those that we are inclined to feel negatively about.
But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another."
1 Thessalonians 4:8-9
This is a good lesson. The part that struck me today is the idea that if we despise anyone, we are really despising God. That's kind of a scary thought... but also a very important one, letting us know how much the two great commandments are wrapped up in each other.
We can't truly love God without loving other people... and we can't learn to love people in a Christlike way without help from God in teaching us what love truly is. That's why Christ tells us "... if ye shall come unto me, or shall desire to come unto me, and rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee—Go thy way unto thy brother, and first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come unto me..." (3 Nephi 12:23-24). Not loving other people gets in the way of loving God.
Today, to show that we don't despise God, let's work really hard on not despising anyone else either. :) It's tough sometimes, and we're going to have all kinds of justifications for why someone is worth despising... but let's let go of the justifications and realize that we need to change. Let's make a real effort to learn to love, both God and those that we are inclined to feel negatively about.
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