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27 April 2008
Word on the Web
Meditations for Life's Journey - Relationships
From the Wise Traveller Series
Today's Word on the Web follows a different format to our normal pattern and uses material from the "Wise Traveller" series of meditations for life's journey on relationships. The material is copyright Scripture Union and used by permission.
Wise Traveller
Neighbour
The 'golden rule' occurs in various forms among many world religions, but is best known from the words of Jesus of Nazareth: 'Love others as you love yourself.' Despite this, our more likely approach to people is to be nice in the first round but then do what was done to us last! Here are some exercises which explore ways of applying the golden rule:
* See the person in front of you as your teacher. What can you learn from them today?
* Give the person in front of you your full attention. Listen without just waiting for your turn to speak next.
* Drop your preconceived ideas and see the person afresh, refusing to judge or label them.
* Be real and treat everyone with the same importance and respect regardless of their status, power or fame.
* Think about what you've got to give to people, not what you can get from them.
* Ask yourself what the kindest thing to do would be (or the loving, or wise thing, or what would increase happiness for all) in any given encounter.
Bruce Stanley
The meaning of love is not to be confused with some sentimental outpouring. Love is something much deeper than emotional bosh. Perhaps the Greek language can clear our confusion at this point. In the Greek New Testament are three words for love. The word eros is a sort of aesthetic or romantic love. In the Platonic dialogues eros is a yearning of the soul for the realm of the divine. The second word is philia, a reciprocal lobe and the intimate affection and friendship between friends. We love those whom we like, and we love because we are loved. The third word is agape, understanding and creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. An overflowing love which seeks nothing in return, agape is the love of God operating in the human heart. At this level, we love men not because their ways appeal to us, nor even because they possess some type of divine spark; we love every man because God loves him. At this level, we love the person who does an evil deed, although we hate the deed that he does.
Now we can see what Jesus meant when he said, 'Love your enemies.' We should be happy that he did not say, 'Like your enemies.' It is almost impossible to like some people. 'Like' is a sentimental and affectionate word. How can we be affectionate toward a person whose avowed aim is to crush our very being and place innumerable stumbling blocks in our path? How can we like a person who is threatening our children and bombing our homes? That is impossible. But Jesus recognised that love is greater than like. When Jesus bids us to love our enemies, he is speaking neither of eros nor philia; he is speaking of agape, understanding and creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. Only by following this way and responding with this type of love are we able to be children of our Father who is in heaven.
Martin Luther King, Jr (1929-1968)
For more information on Wise Traveller see Wise Traveller - Meditations for Life's Journey
This material is copyright Scripture Union 2007
Word on the Web
Meditations for Life's Journey - Relationships
From the Wise Traveller Series
Today's Word on the Web follows a different format to our normal pattern and uses material from the "Wise Traveller" series of meditations for life's journey on relationships. The material is copyright Scripture Union and used by permission.
Wise Traveller
Neighbour
The 'golden rule' occurs in various forms among many world religions, but is best known from the words of Jesus of Nazareth: 'Love others as you love yourself.' Despite this, our more likely approach to people is to be nice in the first round but then do what was done to us last! Here are some exercises which explore ways of applying the golden rule:
* See the person in front of you as your teacher. What can you learn from them today?
* Give the person in front of you your full attention. Listen without just waiting for your turn to speak next.
* Drop your preconceived ideas and see the person afresh, refusing to judge or label them.
* Be real and treat everyone with the same importance and respect regardless of their status, power or fame.
* Think about what you've got to give to people, not what you can get from them.
* Ask yourself what the kindest thing to do would be (or the loving, or wise thing, or what would increase happiness for all) in any given encounter.
Bruce Stanley
The meaning of love is not to be confused with some sentimental outpouring. Love is something much deeper than emotional bosh. Perhaps the Greek language can clear our confusion at this point. In the Greek New Testament are three words for love. The word eros is a sort of aesthetic or romantic love. In the Platonic dialogues eros is a yearning of the soul for the realm of the divine. The second word is philia, a reciprocal lobe and the intimate affection and friendship between friends. We love those whom we like, and we love because we are loved. The third word is agape, understanding and creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. An overflowing love which seeks nothing in return, agape is the love of God operating in the human heart. At this level, we love men not because their ways appeal to us, nor even because they possess some type of divine spark; we love every man because God loves him. At this level, we love the person who does an evil deed, although we hate the deed that he does.
Now we can see what Jesus meant when he said, 'Love your enemies.' We should be happy that he did not say, 'Like your enemies.' It is almost impossible to like some people. 'Like' is a sentimental and affectionate word. How can we be affectionate toward a person whose avowed aim is to crush our very being and place innumerable stumbling blocks in our path? How can we like a person who is threatening our children and bombing our homes? That is impossible. But Jesus recognised that love is greater than like. When Jesus bids us to love our enemies, he is speaking neither of eros nor philia; he is speaking of agape, understanding and creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. Only by following this way and responding with this type of love are we able to be children of our Father who is in heaven.
Martin Luther King, Jr (1929-1968)
For more information on Wise Traveller see Wise Traveller - Meditations for Life's Journey
This material is copyright Scripture Union 2007
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