Heart Checkup

DEVOTION 1 JOHN HEART CHECKUP 1 John 3:11-15 11 This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. NIV Alright then, maybe there are some murders in the church. It would seem most believers take pride in not committing any of the crimes delineated in the Ten Commandments, especially the one that says, “Thou shall not commit murder” but what about this hating a brother? Although the main meaning of this word hate is in fact to detest, it is by extension also to mean to love less. Are there those within the body of Christ that we love less, or perhaps have some sort of non-loving attitude towards? Do we have a tendency to judge others by their appearance, maybe they are not as good looking as we are, and maybe they are way too better looking than we are. Maybe they may be too heavy or we are heavy and they are too thin. Perhaps they are not dress really well or they are dressed really well, and we are jealous. Or they have a bad hair do, look poorer, or richer than us, or maybe seem to be in the “in” more than us? Maybe we feel a little inferior or, God forbid, a little superior then others. Whatever the reason is there some who we love less or maybe even have a certain amount of detest for, if we are truthful with ourselves? Is that then not murder? How can we say we are Christians and love God and have any feeling but the deepest love for all of our fellow believers? Even though this Greek word for love is not the same as the one used to outline the behaviors associated with love in 1st Corinthians, it still means to love in a social or moral sense. This would still imply that we cannot have any other feelings toward our fellow believers other than loving them. So are there murders among us? Are we committing murder? This is a hard question which needs an answer. It not only needs and answer it requires an adjustment of our attitude and thus our behavior. Should we not be greeting each other with a holy kiss or at least a holy hug? Does that not mean everyone, no exceptions? Do we need a checkup from the neck up, or better yet a checkup of our heart? Do we need a heart checkup?