"These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:
And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord."
Zechariah 8:16-17
These are some good things to focus on: truth and peace, which seem to encompass the other advice, but always good to remember specifically not to imagine evil against others (since that definitely doesn't lead to peace), and not to love lies either, since that doesn't help us stay dedicated to truth.
It's difficult to do sometimes, because our society has a different view, which is reinforced in a lot of our media... that some lies, deception, and violence are okay, depending on the people we're lying to. Indeed, the scriptures back this up in some cases, with people infiltrating opposing organizations or armies, wars fought against other nations, etc. God commands, and supports his servants in making decisions for the greater good. However, I think it is dangerous to assume that we are exceptions. That gets us into conditional obedience where we find ways to justify our actions, belittling others and seeing them as enemies of God so that we can justify our treatment of them. That is definitley not what God wants. He wants us to go way out of our way to love other people, as he did, whatever their sins.
Christ, during his mortal ministry, was popular and powerful. He could easily have started a revolution and led his people to victory. He could have chosen to fight his enemies and to conquer the world. Instead he chose to teach love, kindness, compassion, and peace. He fulfilled the will of his Father, promoting God's plan over individual desires, even though that led to his death. And in his suffering and death, he saved us all. Today, let's be willing to endure some opposing opinions and bad behavior in pursuit of God's goals of truth and peace and love. Let's speak the truth to others and ask God to help us change our hearts so that we don't imagine evil or love false oaths. Let's do ask God asks and not wish bad things upon our enemies, but instead find a way to love them, as he does.
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