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Every Soul To Be Treated With Respect, February 25
Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart.... Thou shalt not avenge, nor
bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself.
Leviticus 19:17, 18
.
The Saviour’s words revealed to His hearers the fact that, while they were
condemning others as transgressors, they were themselves equally guilty; for they
were cherishing malice and hatred.... They cherished the most bitter hatred of
their Roman oppressors and felt themselves at liberty to hate and despise all other
peoples, and even their own countrymen who did not in all things conform to their
ideas. In all this they were violating the law which declares, “Thou shalt not kill.”
The spirit of hate and revenge originated with Satan, and it led him to put to
death the Son of God. Whoever cherishes malice or unkindness is cherishing the
same spirit.... In the revengeful thought the evil deed lies enfolded, as the plant in
the seed.... In the gift of His Son for our redemption, God has shown how high a
value He places upon every human soul, and He gives to no man liberty to speak
contemptuously of another. We shall see faults and weaknesses in those about us,
but God claims every soul as His property—His by creation, and doubly His as
purchased by the precious blood of Christ. All were created in His image, and
even the most degraded are to be treated with respect and tenderness. God will
hold us accountable for even a word spoken in contempt of one soul for whom
Christ laid down His life....
Jesus says that whoever shall condemn his brother as an apostate or a despiser
of God shows that he himself is worthy of the same condemnation.
Christ Himself, when contending with Satan about the body of Moses, “durst
not bring against him a railing accusation” (
Jude 1:9
). Had He done this, He would
have placed Himself on Satan’s ground, for accusation is the weapon of the evil
one. He is called in Scripture, “the accuser of our brethren” (
Revelation 12:10
).
Jesus would employ none of Satan’s weapons. He met him with the words, “the
Lord rebuke thee” (
Jude 1:9
).
His example is for us. When we are brought in conflict with the enemies
of Christ, we should say nothing in a spirit of retaliation or that would bear
even the appearance of a railing accusation. He who stands as a mouthpiece for
God should not utter words which even the Majesty of heaven would not use
when contending with Satan. We are to leave with God the work of judging and
condemning.—
Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 55-58
.
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