Romans 12:14-18 “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
As the last day of Hanukkah has come, we’re going to put these five verses together as Paul is telling us a central theme. That theme is compassion. Compassion is a sympathetic concern for the sufferings of others. As you read through the above passage, you can see compassion in one way or another in everything Paul is telling us to do, with the exception of the first verse. How can you have compassion for someone that is persecuting you?
Bless, don’t curse.
It’s been said that the reason we hate is that we just don’t understand. Persecution only comes from people that don’t like us, possibly even hate us. Our instinct is to lash out in retaliation. Paul is telling us to bless them instead. Could it be that they are persecuting because they don’t understand, and we retaliate because we don’t take the time to understand either? If we have compassion for them for whatever they are going through, maybe it will reveal the real reason for the persecution. Now, even if we could see their point of view, it doesn’t mean we’re going to change their mind about us and why they are persecuting us, but if we bless them when they persecute us, who knows what effect that could have. Paul is repeating a command from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus, Himself told us to bless those that persecute us. And remember, the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.
So today, this last day of Hanukkah, dedicate yourself to living through compassion in every situation you encounter.
