Seek Good for Others

We live in a world that increasingly secular. Most people do not follow moral absolutes, but they do what they want to do in each situation, without regard for other people. There is so much selfishness. When people get angry, they want to attack other people, even to the point of murder. It is alarming to see how people respond to other people with whom they disagree. What are we to do, as believers? Are we to think that we have the right to treat others the same way they treat us? That is never the case. We are to treat people the way Jesus would treat them. The Bible is very clear on this point. (I Thessalonians 5:15) We should never repay evil for evil. Instead, we should always seek after good for one another, as believers, and in fact, we should always seek good for all people. I know this seems radical to some of us, but it is God's will for all Christians.

We should not try to control other people or coerce them to do what we want them to do. That only makes people angry, and it gives them a terrible picture of Christians. We are to be different from those who do not know Jesus. We are to be "holy." Holy means set apart from the world. In an age when everyone else is self-seeking, we are to be seeking the good of others. This is true even when someone treats us in an evil way. We must not repay evil for evil. We must seek to respond in a loving way. That means, we should try to do what is good for them, even if it doesn't really help us personally. This principle goes for how we treat brothers and sisters in Christ and all people for that matter. Remember, Jesus died for everyone in the world, no matter how evil they were. Now, He wants everyone to come to know Him and be set free from sin and evil. We can show others Jesus by how we act, and we can show them it is possible to live like Jesus lived. That will help them believe in Jesus and be changed forever.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read II Thessalonians 1-3.