How is Christianity different from other religions? This is one piece of the answer. Most cultures will have you getting along with the guy next door as long as he is part of your sub-group. Thus if you are a Left Handed Baptist and your neighbor is a Left Handed Baptist then you are expected to live in peace. If he is a Right Handed Baptist, all bets are off. That is not the way of God.
Jesus defies the morals of the world.
(Matthew 5:43-4 KJV) Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;Like so many other teachings of Jesus we find that it is rooted in the Old Testament. Much of what He is teaching is a matter of bringing out the truth that has been ignored.
So? What truth have you been ignoring? What have I conveniently forgotten? That is one reason why we need to keep reading the Bible with a time for reflection. God wants to remind us of something today. It might be how we treat our neighbor. It might be our gluttony. It might be our use of leisure.
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