Love to the World || Psalm 97:10 || Manna for the Mind #13

Welcome to Day 13 of my “Manna for the Mind” devotional series! This series takes a passage of scripture (typically 1-3 verses) and builds its understanding through its context and connecting scripture. Doing this helps us understand what the Bible truly teaches us. 

Psalm 97:10

10          You who love the Lord, hate evil! He protects the lives of his godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked.

When you intentionally choose to do what God wants, your desires will align with his desires. You’ll love what God loves and hate what God hates. It’s plain and simple. Suppose you idolize those who focus only on themselves and envy those who get ahead using any means. In that case, you’ve moved away from pleasing God. The idea is to keep your eyes focused on God and God alone. Move when he tells you to move, and stay when he tells you to stay. Learn to love God’s ways. It may not always be easy, but it is always doable. You can resist evil in every form, even the evils that are socially acceptable to the non-Christian world. Pay attention to how much the “Love God. Love People.” movement happens today and see how often it can do more harm than good.

King Nebuchadnezzar had his own realization of God’s love in Daniel 3:28-29.

Daniel 3:28-29

28          Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

29          Therefore, I will make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!”

How many of you watched the VeggieTales version of this story? I loved this one, mainly because of the “Bunny Song” and “Stand.”  What King Neb was doing wasn’t making a commitment to serve the Hebrews’ God alone. He was still going to serve the god or gods he chose to. He acknowledged God’s power and commanded his people not to speak against God. He respects God and fears what God can do. Because of that, he’s telling his people not to speak against God. Neb didn’t tell his people to throw away all the other gods but to include this one to the list of the other gods people worshipped.

This exemplifies how we can coexist with people of different religions. We don’t often talk about this in the Christian world. We constantly push the narrative of converting people into Christians regardless of what they believe or if they believe at all. We are called to share the Gospel. We are called to share our testimony, discussing what God has done in our lives. We are called to plant mustard seeds. We are not called to name-call, bully, or slander others for believing something other than the Christian God. We are not called to make fun of someone’s belief structure. We are called to plant mustard seeds. We can answer any questions they might have or hear about any wrestling they are going through. We are called to love as Jesus taught us, even those who don’t believe what we believe.

Romans 12:9-10 talks about the love we should share with each other.

Romans 12:9-10

9             Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.

10          Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

Most of us have learned how to be nice to each other. We can speak kindly, avoid hurting people’s feelings, and appear interested in them. We can even be skilled in pretend compassion when we hear of others’ needs or to become passionate when we learn of injustice. We’ve learned how to do that a lot since the COVID-19 pandemic began. We had to learn how to care for one another, whether that included wearing a mask or staying socially distant from loved ones. We had to learn how to provide acts of love in new ways, like delivering groceries and food to people’s doorsteps or celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, or milestones virtually.

We also learned how to feel compassion, whether intentionally or superficially. Whether it was through George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, or any additional racial injustice moment that occurred over the last five years. It could’ve been the 2020 election and the following insurrection where we saw people attempting to do what they thought was right and make things worse. It could be done with the Russia-Ukraine war or the genocide happening to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. There are people throughout many generations who intentionally go out of their way to stand up for the world’s injustice through protests, using their platforms to share facts, resources, and calls to action to get people who have influence to make the necessary changes. Some people do the same thing for clout, fame, and influence. They appear to be trying to change the world to manipulate their audience to make a profit.

God calls us to genuine love that goes way beyond presence and politeness. Genuine love requires concentration and effort. Look for people who need love, and look for ways you can love those around you like Jesus. It’s effortless to focus on the calls of the world to find people who need your love. Doing that, though, can make us overlook those people before us. We miss the people in our community when we look at our feeds. We miss our friends when we focus on our followers. Take a step back to look at the world around you. Not the world, but the world around you, and see where God is calling you to share the love He’s given to you to those who need to hear it from you. Amen.

Father God, we thank you for your eternal love. Thank you for this gift that we can never lose. Encourage us to share this gift with others who feel they can’t receive it from you. It’s in your name, we pray. Amen.