Misunderstood “Love” In Christianity
By JAYDEN OH ‘28
Jesus was not someone who was ever-forgiving and infinitely kind. He whipped corrupted businessmen in the temple, condemned hypocrisy, and yelled at those who misunderstood faith. Yet, it is also true that loving one another and forgiving people were also his values. Is he pretending to act kind on some occasions? How does being that strict allow people to care for one another?
Jesus lectured to people that understanding the intentions is more important than following the rules. For example, in the Ten Commandments, Moses wrote that you should beat anyone who works on holidays. Yet, the reason behind it is to allow people to socialize, rest, and better enjoy the world. So, when the traditional religious authorities condemned him for lecturing, Jesus asked them if they would ignore their sheep if it fell into a pit just because it was a holiday.
Further, he went against the traditional religious norms and leaders, defining love as something you give to everyone without bias. The Old Testament, which people blindly followed, tells people to love their neighbors and fight their enemies. Neighbors meant similar race and socioeconomic status, whereas people who didn’t belong to such a category were blamed for having a lack of faith in God. We cannot only control those misfortunes but this makes it harder for people to truly love one another. So, he accepted the poor, foreign immigrants, and disabled people and understood them beyond their appearance. Also, every time people criticized them, he would tell others that these people were also made by God.
Now, since love is for everyone, how do we care for one another?
The key difference between the strict Jesus and the forgiving Jesus is based on whether or not one understands the weight of one’s actions. Jesus only truly forgave and cared for people when they confronted their wrongdoings and owned it for the rest of their lives. Since it is more effective for Jesus to accept and care for those who are repenting, he loved everyone, including criminals, who truly repented of their actions.
On the other hand, the strict Jesus came up when people were ignorant of their actions. If people decided to self-justify their wrongdoings or abuse words in the bible, Jesus harshly punished and corrected them. This was a calculated way for Jesus to maximize those who act morally. While we are prone to make mistakes under unexpected hardships, we also have the innate ability to feel what is the right thing to do.
He taught us to not negotiate with hypocrisy and impenitence. That is, he reduced evil by allowing people to realize and understand their mistakes rather than implementing unjust retributions. This also allowed people who hid their past deeds to repent their sins. Fighting against evil is love, yet constantly criticizing people who are showing remorse is not.
We make mistakes that are forced upon us in the worst times of our lives, and it is incredibly difficult to acknowledge the mistake as part of yourself. Yet, apart from the religious salvation, the reflection itself helps you to ironically not become a bad person. Even to yourself, you can embody love (Agape) by understanding and forgiving yourself, and by not avoiding and giving excuses. The religion and stories are the tools by which this message is conveyed to us. You don’t need to buy all of the events that happened in the Bible. Yet, throughout the teachings and the messages of Jesus, we know one thing for sure: to love everyone, including yourself.
