Seven Reasons to Love Others
by Perry Hall
- God commands it. “Because God said so” must be good enough to obey. But we want more, don’t we? Maybe we should need more reasons!
- It imitates God. That is the highest motivation. God loved us while we were His enemies (Romans 5:8-10).
- It helps others (Romans 12:20-21). Just because we do not like someone does not mean we should wish them harm, even if we sometimes hate them emotionally.
- The best way to learn to like someone is to love them.
- Loving others protects us. Did you ever wonder if the command not to take vengeance because vengeance is God’s and that instead, we must do good to our enemies might be for our own good too? By doing so, we are not allowing ourselves to be conquered by evil (Romans 12:21). By doing so, we also become changed. So, if you don’t like someone, start loving them. Do good for them until you like them.
- It teaches others to love and like us, and who doesn’t want to be loved and liked?
- It leads others to Christ; that is how God leads us to salvation.
