I don’t keep track of such things as what we should love and hate. Those are very abstract. I can’t name any or all of the things I’m supposed to hate, for example.
I hate sin, starting with my own. I hate others’ sins, but I sympathize, or is it empathize, with the problem of falling into sin. Sin has such an allure – it always looks like the right thing or the good thing, when it is not.
This kind of verse from Christ, if it does nothing else, will keep us on our toes about what we do all the time.
It seems like a good thing, for example, to indulge children with toys. The toys are so expensive, to begin with. But, certainly they enjoy them so much. They spend hours playing electronic games and watching tv. But, how do we draw the line for them, when we use the toys to show our love for them? we want our kids to have the learning experiences which come from the toys. I’m not a parent, but it seems it would be a challenge to keep kids’ heads in the right place, spiritually.
AND THEN, I visited a friend’s house and saw the hundreds, if not thousands, of DVDs that were there. It was no surprise to me that their kids, as adults, do not even go to church. They have been distracted by all these non-Biblical, non-Christian Hollywood role models. I didn’t say anything to my friend and his wife. I was astonished by their household income, to be able to buy all these DVD’s in the first place. They were even a temptation to despair for me.
