Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. - Romans 12:9-13
This passage describes love among Christians. Paul begins by telling us that as Christians, our love must be sincere or genuine, then he proceeds to describe to us what genuine love looks like. He says, "Hate what is evil; cling to what is good." He is talking about people. That is, hate what is evil in people, but don't reject the person because of the evil. The person is precious to God. God loves him/her. He or she is made in the image of God. Therefore, true love learns to hate (stand against) anything that is evil and damaging to the people God has called us to love. I will be the first to admit that this is difficult to do. But notice that hypocritical love, love that pretends to be Christian, does the opposite.
Hypocritical love rejects the person because he doesn't behave according to an acceptable standard. You find many churches that do this. In fact, this is one of the things in the church that has turned off more people than anything else. People come and hear the great words of the New Testament about love and peace and joy, and expect to find them exhibited, but instead they find all the world's attitudes - rejection and prejudice, and even contempt and disdain for people. The church cuts them off and sets them aside, not wanting to have anything to do with them because they don't meet a certain standard of performance. That is what this word warns us against. It is hypocrisy to reject persons because you don't like their behavior.
But you can go to the other extreme in this too. It is also hypocritical to condone sin because you accept the person. Christians often realize that it is wrong to cut people off and have nothing to do with them because they are not behaving rightly. But some Christians accept these people and say nothing about their evil or sin, and even defend it on occasion. If we are not careful, we can find ourselves defending and rationalizing what the Bible calls evil, simply because we want to accept the person.
Next, Paul shows us that true love remembers that Christian community is the ground of our concern for each other. The English Standard Version translates Rom. 12:10 this way, “Love one another with brotherly affection.” Paul uses the Greek words phileo & storge here to indicate brotherly affection and familial love. This doesn't refer to just anyone that is in need or in trouble (although we should love them too); it specifies your brother or sister. The basis of concern for one another is not that we know each other well or even enjoy one another, it is that we are related to one another, we are family members in Christ!
In the second half of Romans 12:10, Paul tells us to honor one another above ourselves. This simple little command is actually very profound and incredibly relevant if we understand it. Sometimes, inn order to grasp the depth of a passage, it is helpful to read how the various Bible translations have put it in english.
ESV - Outdo one another in showing honor.
NLT - and take delight in honoring each other
NASB - give preference to one another in honor
CEV - honor others more than you do yourself.
The Greek words literally mean “to take the lead in”...In other words, we are to take the lead in putting others first! This idea is at the very heart of the Biblical definition of love. In Matthew 20, Jesus said that the first shall be last and the last shall be first, and that the greatest among you will be like a servant.
What does all of this mean? It means we should be asking ourselves...Who can I love? How can I serve them? What can I do to bless others? Don’t wait around to love others, be first! What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for someone to love you first? Someone already has! “We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
Jeff Frazier
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