Practicing Sin is Not Love of Brethren

1 John 3:8-10 "…8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil can be distinguished: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother."

Notice that not loving your brother is evidence of one who is not born again. I see so many pretenders who love their arrogance and are devoid of respect for others, these are clues something is deeply wrong.

There are many disrespectful people who accuse others of disrespect to deflect notice from their own sinfulness. When a narcissist accuses you of being disrespectful, they are really describing themselves. This will be true of any other accusations they throw at us.

Romans 12:10
"Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor."

When there is an absence of honor for people, we know there is also an absence of honor for God. If we cannot honor people whom we can see, we are not likely to honor God Whom we cannot see. The evidence of this mentality is seen in the extraction of Scripture from its context to make it say things God never said, in order to justify sin. Another way we see this is when someone adds concepts to the Bible that God never commanded, in order to control others.

Titus 2:7
"Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity,"

Arguing and fighting to win, especially with those who are older, is monstrous disrespect, something we see in the young people often today.

2 Timothy 2:14
"Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers."

Leviticus 19:32
“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord."

Exodus 20:12 ". 12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you. "

When we see the proliferation of 2 Timothy 3, we are reminded that we live in times in which we cannot expect the principles of God to be valued, in fact, we will probably be delighted and surprised when someone honors God's Word above everyone and everything else, because of the rarity of it.

Romans 12:9-11
"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord."

When love is genuine there will not be competition to appear superior with others, in fact we will see ourselves as no more or no less than anyone else, the matter is entirely irrelevant to us.

There is a saying, I don't know where it came from or who said it but it goes like this;

"one of the elements of holiness is the absence of self awareness.

Philippians 2:2-4 "…2 then make my joy complete by being of one mind, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.…"

Individualism and individual accomplishment has been the downfall of this country. When the individual is praised and held above the whole, we have lost the "what is best for all", in the thinking process.

"No man is an island" is an idea that has also been lost. Everything we do and say affects others around us. To think that there is such a thing as a victimless crime or an act that only affects us, is denying the impact our influence has on others.

The pain and suffering in the world increases when we think singularly, without empathy for those around us, devoted to ourselves alone.

When we love Christ, know where we came from and where we are going, we will not boast of one thing about ourselves, not within ourselves secretly or openly in front of others. We will not think in terms of our actions being for us alone, ever!

Matthew 5:13-16
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men."

1 Corinthians 15:33
"Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."

1 Corinthians 8:9-13
"But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak."