What would it take for everyone to ask before doing or saying anything: Is what I’m about to do or say loving? It seems clear that this is what Jesus asks us to do no matter who the other person is. There are no conditions that absent us from this commandment. Jesus applies it to friend and enemy and men and women, and He applies it to any other kind of equality or difference we see between each other.
I would like to take some time this week to help us to answer that question. Why is it so difficult for us to do what Jesus asks us? According to the teachings of Jesus, we know that evil comes from within. Our inability to love whoever is in front of us probably has something to do with our own prejudice or attitudes toward certain people or groups. We might have made a decision that some person or group is unworthy of our love because of what they say or do. Jesus does not place that condition or any other condition on our command to love one another as God loves us.