I Love You (Not Really...)

Let's consider the human body for a moment:
Does the healthy body fight against itself?
Does the toe try to outdo the finger?
Do the arms try to outdo the legs?
I could ask several more redundant, anatomical questions along this line.
The answer to all of them is "NO".
In a properly-functioning human body, the various parts faithfully carry out their designated roles.
As a matter of fact, they help each other.  Here's an example - -
When the human encounters a situation which requires "flight"  (you know, "fight or flight"),
the adrenal glands, above the kidneys, produce adrenaline, which gives the muscles used in "flight" (the leg muscles primarily) the ability to skeedaddle quickly away.  But, the arms also help.  Have you ever tried to suddenly run very fast?  You can't do it unless your arms start pumping, to help propel you forward.
I think you get my drift.

In Romans 12:9-10, we get a taste of Paul's larger treatise on the topic of love in 1 Cor. 13.

9Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

The word "genuine" in verse 9, is translated from the Greek ἀνυπόκριτος. which means literally "without hypocrisy".  The title of today's post reeks with hypocrisy, doesn't it?

Remember, now, that Paul is speaking to the Christians in the young church of Rome.  He is exhorting us to love each other sincerely, genuinely, without hypocrisy.  He is urging us to function as a healthy Body of Christ, group of Christ-followers.

Those of you who have ever associated yourself with a group of believers know that this is not always the case.  Sometimes, The Body acts as though it has an auto-immune disorder; it eats/tears-down Itself.  The "ME Syndrome" can be quite prevalent.  Examples:

"I'd be a better chairman of the deacons that he."
"I'm glad Pastor preached that sermon today; _______ really needed to hear it!"
"Can you believe he chose her to sing that solo?  Ghastly voice!"
"{Construct your own carnal statement here.  I'm sure you can think of one.}"

Obviously, I've been in some churches....as have many Christians reading this.  If we love each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, we will do what verse 10 says, which is to "outdo one another in showing honor".  That doesn't mean we will be immune from carnal, fleshly thoughts, such as the ones mentioned above. Satan is not going to abandon his very successful strategy of causing dissension in the church.  It does mean, however, that we will choose to reject such carnal impulses, put them "under the blood", release them to the Holy Spirit and not act on them in a sinful fashion.

Let's be honest: God's range of variety in His creation is amazing.  Accordingly, there are members of the Body who will just make you roll your eyes or drive you crazy, and that is when they are being totally holy!  They are just so different from you that they might as well be aliens.  Still...

Over and over again, we read in the Bible about the power of choice.  It's inescapable, despite our all-knowing, all-powerful God knows our choices before we make them.

Here's verse 10 in the beautiful Greek:
"With the brotherly love toward one another devoted; in honor, one another esteeming"

Let's be known for the love we have for each other, for our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Unless and until we CHOOSE love and we honor each other well, we will be hampered in our capacity to love an unsaved, bound-for-Hell, spiritually dying world.

Really.  :)

Father, I thank you that You did not create us all the same.  If You had, we would be a grotesque representation, a monster (as I've heard it said).  Instead, we fit together as a Body of Christ, as beautifully as a properly-functioning, healthy human body does.  May we choose daily to honor You by showing humility in our honoring of each other.  In Jesus' name, amen.