Hate for Kin

"You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin."

 - Leviticus 19

So I'll continue to focus on the topic of family. Yes it's true that Jesus says that He came to divide father from son, brother from brother, etc. But that is only because the righteous use Love as their weapon. You can love your family deeply, and care for them . . . but that doesn't mean that they will reciprocate. It also does not mean you should stop loving them.

The pattern is set in the Old Testament. Families are critical to God's plan. He kept track of genealogies because it is important. There is a logic, and a sense of order, to growing families. You belong, automatically. You can do anything, from the harshest evil to the most benign charity. Your brother is still your brother. Your cousin, your cousin. And you will always be linked to thousands of others, through your great-great-great grandparents.

Imagine families taking this seriously: 

"Do all of us have health insurance?" 

"Can all of us afford college?" 

"How are all the fatherless children in the family doing?" 

"Is there a widow that needs dental work, or a new roof?"

It's inspiring just writing about it. You're looking at the simple solution to every social problem in the US today. And if that can be mastered, we may turn our eyes on other priorities that are not subject to partisan politics: like public safety and international trade.

Your "kin". Who are they? Would you draw the line at your immediate family? Your extended family? Do you love your great-grandparents, if you knew them? Do you love them enough to care about every one of their children, if you can? And what if your great-grandparents died with concern for their cousins that they knew as children, that they loved, but that they knew came into some misfortune? Would you do something about it, knowing it was something your beloved grandmother was concerned about?

The broader we make our definition of "kin," the more people we can help, the more good we can do . . . and the more good that will come back to our own grandchildren and great-grandchildren, if any of them ever need it!!

Turning away from your kin could be devastating to them, and to you. The Lord easily defines this as "hate."