Love Waxed Cold
by Jeremy Brown
Most days I wake up and wonder how we got to such a state! Before I can open up the latest issue of the Wall Street Journal, I can see images of a world with so much pain and a lack of love for thy neighbor, images of the latest bombing victims, mass shooting, etc., on the front page. “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). It’s become so common place that many of us are shocked when we turn on the news and we don’t hear about the latest mass shooting, mass bombing, murder, robbery, etc. How do we maintain our empathy and love for one another?
God gave us instructions on how to treat each other so we could have a harmonious life. Those instructions were the Ten Commandments. The first four tell us how God wants to be treated, and the last six tell us how God expects us to treat each other. Imagine what life would be like if we obeyed the Sixth Commandment, which forbids murder, or the Ninth Commandment, which forbids bearing false witness. Many of the Ten Commandments would be so easily obeyed if we followed Galatians 5:14: “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Many times I open my social media news feed and I’m disgusted at how so many people devour each other over a difference in opinion. Social media seems to have had a negative effect on our society. Some of the nicest people you meet turn completely vicious on social media. We have political candidates attacking others in some of the most vicious ways over a difference in opinion. If you don’t believe me, go look for yourself. Just turn on a news talk show or stroll through your social media news feed. The love in our society is waxing cold; just watch how people attack each other over a difference of opinion. Instead of trying to figure out why this or that person believes what they believe, we immediately attack their personal character. What has happened to us! I stopped engaging in hot topics on social media after I saw the barrage of insults hurled on a particular topic’s news feed by Christians and non-Christians. Just take a look around and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about.
In a world such as ours it is the duty of a Christian to be that which the world is lacking. If we say the world lacks love, then we must be that love or whatever we see the world lacking. “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled” (Hebrews 12:14-15). Of course, this isn’t easy, but we Christians should always approach issues with proven facts from the Bible and with respect for one another, without the vicious name calling that has become so common place in our society. “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:1-2). We need to be there for one another, lay aside our egos, and lift up one another in a world that’s constantly tearing itself apart.