Of course love is kind, gentle, and patient toward others. But this doesn’t mean we must always play nice and allow others to simply walk all over us. To be sure, there’s a place for love to be aggressive and dangerous for good.
While some people get a kick out of offending others, for most of us this is not something we actively seek to do. In fact, we often live in fear of offending others and go to great lengths not to rock the boat with those around us.
Certainly, simply being a jerk is not an expression of love. But neither is the desperate need for everyone to play nice and never offend each other.
Love provides what is needed. And sometimes this means being kind and dangerous at the same time.
To be kind is to treat others with dignity and respect, while also being considerate and giving them the benefit of the doubt.
And while admittedly very hard in practice, we can still be kind and respectful to those we disagree with, and even our enemies.
But we should not confuse kindness with passivity or weakness.
While being kind, we still have a duty to protect and advance the good of those around us.
And this means we must be willing to take up the sword of righteousness whenever necessary – standing against anything that threatens the life, goodness, and beauty God has given us.
Like Jesus, we can be as gentle as a lamb and as fierce as a lion as the situation demands.
We don’t fight just for the sake of fighting or to stroke our own ego. But we don’t let the fear of rocking the boat hold us back either.
We’re kind and a dangerous force for good at the same time.
Be both as you bring more life and goodness into the world around you.
Photo by jeffjacobs1990 on Pixabay
