“To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.”—Fred Rogers
#lovethyneighbor (no exceptions)—need I say more?
We don’t have to agree with someone to love them. We don’t even have to like someone to love them. We simply need to respect them and treat them humanely.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”—1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)
We need to go beyond angry discourse—beyond “tolerance”, “intolerance”, and “intolerance of intolerance”—and practice acceptance for every person “exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.” This is love.
If you don’t like someone? Deal with it in love. If we don’t like someone’s ideas? Hear them and make our case—in love. There is no room for hatred in our crowded world. We need make love with our neighbor (not the fun kind, but the difficult kind—the self-sacrificing, “I am third” kind of love).
Mr. Rogers taught us to be good neighbors. Let’s practice this together.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!