"Do I have to LIKE..."

"Do I have to LIKE..." (Full Version)

All Forums >> [Life] >> Relationships

Message

sgpianoman -> "Do I have to LIKE..." (9/16/2008 3:45:11 PM)
One of the things I enjoy about bible study at church is discussion. Someone brought up the question: "I know i am supposed to love everyone, but do i have to like them?" Of course many answers was close to "love the person, don't like what they do" all the way to "you don't have to really like everyone, because sometimes people just do not get along". I thought it was a good discussion question. What do you think? Any scripture to back the answer is even better!

jaimestarcross -> RE: "Do I have to LIKE..." (9/16/2008 5:26:40 PM)
Love your neighbor as you love yourself? How do you love someone without liking them too? I don't like the bad things a person may do but I still like/love them as a person... for example when my friend was charged with contributing to the death of his infant. I didn't like what he was accused of but I still talked to him and showed Christ's love. In the end he was cleared of wrong doing but he's still judged as guilty by lots of people who'll not associate with him at all and they don't like me for being friends with him.

deermousie -> RE: "Do I have to LIKE..." (9/16/2008 6:37:41 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: sgpianoman One of the things I enjoy about bible study at church is discussion. Someone brought up the question: "I know i am supposed to love everyone, but do i have to like them?" Of course many answers was close to "love the person, don't like what they do" all the way to "you don't have to really like everyone, because sometimes people just do not get along". I thought it was a good discussion question. What do you think? Any scripture to back the answer is even better! I was going to say that we can love someone without liking them, because love is an action, not a feeling. But then I found this: (1 Pet. 1:22) Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love (friendship) of the brethren, see that you fervently love (unconditionally, like God does us) one another with a pure heart . So now I'm going to have to sit back and let someone better versed than me answer this; obviously my thoughts aren't matching up with Scripture. BTW, some people are hard to like - they are abrupt, thoughtless, proud, rude or selfish. I knew a pastor who said that God put one of these in every group so Christians could practice loving unconditionally. If everyone else is fine, you're it. [:D]

Focusing -> RE: "Do I have to LIKE..." (9/17/2008 10:17:00 AM)
Well, I sat in a sermon one time and learned about "Jesus people" ... these are people we don't like, but we know we are to love them as Christ loves us, so we need to pray for Him to love these people through us. The preacher was being serious but delivered it in a light-hearted manner. I don't know, maybe you had to be there and hear him say it. At any rate, when there are people I really don't care for, I do pray and ask God to love them through me because I just cannot do it. It's honest and sincere, and to tell you the truth, it has made it easier for me to deal with certain people. Not a Biblical answer, but something important I learned.

jesuschick247 -> RE: "Do I have to LIKE..." (9/17/2008 1:35:32 PM)
I think it is possible to love everyone, and yet not like them. We love them because they are a person who God created in His image and who has an eternal soul and we love the because, we are concerned where they will spend eternity. We may not like their actions or how they treat them, but since we care about their eternity, we still love them. I like the way the really old Skillet song, "Hey, You! I love your soul!" puts it -- "...I can't depend on your hate to define my love, am I strong enough to love your soul? No bounds on the deep, no bounds on the wide, am I deep enough to love your soul? God, in you I am strong enough, strong enough, I am deep enough to love your soul." It's only by God's grace and mercy that we are here in the first place, do you think Jesus felt like dying on the cross for our sins? I highly doubt it! But, He loved us, our souls, so much that He was willing to do whatever it took to bridge the gap in between us. So, can't we at least try to love others like Christ has loved us? No, it won't always be easy, but we can put forth an effort! The scripture I keep coming back to is I John 4:11- " Beloved, if God loved us so very much, we also ought to love one another."

DaveW -> RE: "Do I have to LIKE..." (9/18/2008 7:01:24 AM)
"Like" is an emotional response, a perceived comfort and compatibility. To biblically "love" someone, you make a decision to seek for their good, placing their needs above your own. That has nothing to do with how you feel about them.

ebony101 -> RE: "Do I have to LIKE..." (9/20/2008 4:16:43 PM)
God loves the sinner, but hates the sin. I teach it to the kids through this verse, Jesus loves me when I'm good when I do the things I should Jesus loves me when I'm bad, but it makes him very sad. God loves us, not necessarily the things we do. When we dislike people it's usually because of something that they've done that irks us. We must try to continue loving the person, and not the action that they've done. Very easily said, but not easily done. [8\|][:o][&:]

Page: [1]

Forum Software © ASPPlayground.NET Advanced Edition 2.5 ANSI