At our last meeting, we decided to use the theme of loving difficult people, or loving the unlovable, for the next part of the semester. “Love your neighbor” is a recurring Biblical theme; see for example Micah 6:8, Matthew 22:36-40, Mark 12:30-31 , Luke 10:25-37 , John 13:34-35 , 1 John 3:18 . One of the Common Call flyers on campus says:
Love the sinner, hate the sin.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
Also, Rev. Lou Ellen Hartley’s sermon today was directly relevant. You can listen to it here:
At our next couple meetings, Dr. Stuart Baur (who is leading in Dr. Jonathan Kimball’s absence) will lead a discussion around addiction. How do we understand addiction theologically? How do we love someone who is engaged in self-destructive behavior? How does understanding it as a disease vs. considering it to be a sin affect our relationships?