SPEAKER_00: Hello, my friends, and welcome back to the Spray UMC Podcast.
SPEAKER_00: I'm Hoyt.
SPEAKER_00: Today I want to talk about something I still struggle with.
SPEAKER_00: How to love someone when we disagree.
SPEAKER_00: When someone confronts me or strongly disagrees with me, I often become quiet.
SPEAKER_00: It is not always because I have nothing to say.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I remain silent because I do not trust myself to disagree and still show the love of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: I do not want anger to control my words.
SPEAKER_00: I do not want to say something that will damage another person.
SPEAKER_00: But remaining silent is not always the same as making peace.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes comes from wisdom, but sometimes it comes from fear.
SPEAKER_00: So how do we speak honestly, stand by our convictions, and still love the person standing before us?
SPEAKER_00: We sometimes act as though loving someone means approving of everything that person believes or does.
SPEAKER_00: But agreement and love are not the same thing.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus never compromised the truth.
SPEAKER_00: He spoke clearly about sin, repentance, and obedience to God, yet he also treated people with compassion, dignity, and mercy.
SPEAKER_00: Ephesians four, fifteen tells us, but speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Notice that that scripture holds truth and love together.
SPEAKER_00: Truth without love can become harsh and cruel.
SPEAKER_00: Love without truth can become empty and dishonest.
SPEAKER_00: Christ calls us to speak the truth, but he also cares about the spirit in which we speak it.
SPEAKER_00: James 1 nineteen says, My dear brothers and sisters, understand this.
SPEAKER_00: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
SPEAKER_00: Listening does not mean that I agree.
SPEAKER_00: It means that I care enough to understand what the other person is actually saying.
SPEAKER_00: Too often we listen only long enough to prepare our reply.
SPEAKER_00: While the other person is still speaking, we are already building our argument.
SPEAKER_00: We are not trying to understand, we are trying to win.
SPEAKER_00: But people are not arguments to be defeated.
SPEAKER_00: Listening may not change my convictions, but it may change how I see the person.
SPEAKER_00: It may help me recognize the pain, fear, or life experience behind the words I'm hearing.
SPEAKER_00: The person who disagrees with me is not merely an opinion, a political position, or a label.
SPEAKER_00: That person is someone created in the image of God.
SPEAKER_00: When I reduce someone to a label, it becomes easier to dismiss them.
SPEAKER_00: I stop seeing a person and begin seeing an opponent.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus did not command us to love only the people who agree with us.
SPEAKER_00: He even commanded us to love our enemies.
SPEAKER_00: That does not mean pretending that every idea is true.
SPEAKER_00: It means refusing to treat another human being as though he or she has no value.
SPEAKER_00: We can disagree with a person's belief without attacking that person's worth.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus taught that what comes out of our mouths reveals what is living in our hearts.
SPEAKER_00: Disagreement has a way of bringing hidden things to the surface.
SPEAKER_00: It can expose anger, pride, bitterness, impatience, or the desire to prove that we are right.
SPEAKER_00: Before I respond, I need to ask myself, what will my words reveal about my heart?
SPEAKER_00: Am I trying to help someone understand?
SPEAKER_00: Or am I trying to embarrass them?
SPEAKER_00: Am I defending the truth or am I defending my pride?
SPEAKER_00: Do my words sound like someone who has been changed by Jesus Christ?
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the right response is to speak gently.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it is to remain quiet.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it is to say, I hear what you're saying, but I do not agree.
SPEAKER_00: We do not need to win every argument, but we should always seek to honor Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Romans twelve, eighteen says, If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
SPEAKER_00: I appreciate the honesty of that verse.
SPEAKER_00: Paul says, if possible, some disagreements will not be resolved.
SPEAKER_00: We may listen carefully, speak respectfully, and still walk away believing different things.
SPEAKER_00: Our responsibility is not to force agreement.
SPEAKER_00: Our responsibility is to do everything within our power to live at peace.
SPEAKER_00: I cannot control another person's response.
SPEAKER_00: I can control whether I answer with patience or anger.
SPEAKER_00: I can control whether my words heal or wound.
SPEAKER_00: I can control whether I treat someone as a neighbor or as an enemy.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said in John 13, 35, by this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.
SPEAKER_00: People are watching how Christians treat those who disagree with them.
SPEAKER_00: Our behavior may tell them more about our faith than our arguments ever will.
SPEAKER_00: If we speak about the love of Christ while treating others with contempt, our words lose their meaning.
SPEAKER_00: I am still learning how to do this.
SPEAKER_00: I do not always know what to say when someone disagrees with me.
SPEAKER_00: But perhaps the goal is not to have the perfect response.
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps the goal is to remember that the person standing before me is someone Christ commands me to love.
SPEAKER_00: We can disagree without becoming enemies.
SPEAKER_00: We can speak truth without cruelty.
SPEAKER_00: We can listen without surrendering our convictions.
SPEAKER_00: And though it through it all we can ask Christ to make his love visible in us, let us pray.
SPEAKER_00: Lord Jesus, teach us to speak the truth with love.
SPEAKER_00: Help us listen before we answer and see every person as someone created in your image.
SPEAKER_00: Guard our hearts against anger, pride, and bitterness.
SPEAKER_00: When agreement is impossible, help us remain patient, respectful, and faithful to you.
SPEAKER_00: May our words and actions show others the love we have received from you.
SPEAKER_00: In your holy name we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining me today.
SPEAKER_00: If you do not have a church home, we would love to have you worship with us at Spray United Methodist Church, located at 803 Morgan Road in Eden, North Carolina.
SPEAKER_00: We are a loving church where we love God and love people.
SPEAKER_00: All people.
SPEAKER_00: Until next time, may the grace of God rise before you and keep you safe.
SPEAKER_00: Goodbye.