"Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous." 1 Peter 3:8Don't we need more of this today?
We live where we emphasize the self much more than the community. We emphasize getting our way before we start thinking about everybody around us. But that's not what we're called to by God. Instead, we are called to build up communities. We are called to live with love.
The interesting thing about the above command is that it implies that love is the way to be of one mind. Things would be so much easier these days if everybody were with one mind. One does not need to look far to understand what a privilege it is to have people of one mind. Aside from a family (which itself might be divided), there are political parties that are doing just that - parting people. In a party, people will side with one another in a concerted effort to demonize the 'other'. That's not what we're called to do.
The good thing about this command is that it already gives us instructions on how to go about being of one mind. We need to have compassion for one another. We need to love as sisters and brothers. We need to be tenderhearted. We need to be courteous. In other words, we need to be nice people. That's it! Just be nice to one another. We have learned how to be nice to one another as children. In fact, it is as we grew up that we started to learn about all the exceptions. Be nice only to people who have the same color of skin as you do. Be nice only to the people who like things exactly as you do. Be nice only to those you find attractive.
Instead, we need to erase all those exceptions from our minds and start to unite as one community of love. It doesn't take much effort. We can pray and meditate and look through the bible for answers to questions that we feign, but the only way we'll accomplish this is if we actually do. Do be nice to everyone. Do love everyone as you did when you were a child.
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