"Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!
Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul."
Habakkuk 2:9-10
When I was on my mission we tracted into a man's house who let us in and was friendly. He explained that his philosophy was to do good to and protect his family and friends, but that people outside of that group he wasn't concerned about. The basic idea was that it was okay to overcharge people for his job because it enriched his family. I thought he and his family were awesome, and I don't think he was being intentionally evil. We probably all have some of that "tribal" attitude, where we want to love and protect a certain group of people and put them first. However, the way we treat people, even strangers, is very important to God, who asked us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, and who gave us the parable of the good Samaritan.
I think that is the idea behind these verses as well. The general desire to set our nests (homes, families) on high (isolate, separate) to protect from evil is a familiar instinct. But as the selection explains, we bring shame to our homes by cutting them off from others, and we sin against our souls by not being willing to reach out to others and to treat them as neighbors rather than strangers. Today, perhaps, we should make sure our instincts to love and protect a group don't alienate us to others. Let's make sure we're out there helping the world as well as our families. Everyone deserves to see our good side, and we enrich ourselves by learning from, and about, others. :)
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