UPFRONT August 15, 2005 Issue

Love—the liberator

MARILYN JONES, SENIOR WRITER

When I first read an article called "Taking Offense," included in Mary Baker Eddy's collection Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, this quote from Hannah More startled me: "If I wished to punish my enemy, I should make him hate somebody" (p. 223). At the time, I'd thought that if I wanted to see my enemy punished, I'd hope something horrible would happen to him or her.

But upon reflection on that quote, I realized that hating really does enslave a person, because hating captures every thought and can become so overpowering and obsessive that it drives you crazy. Truly horrible, right? What a release to let go of hate and instead fill your thoughts with tenderness, understanding, and compassion.

That might sound like a naive, Pollyanna approach to life, but I've found that, in fact, strength and wisdom result from loving others. Not just thinking nice things about people, but deeply, spiritually seeing another person's worth and identity as a child of God. When someone asked Jesus, "Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law?" he gave this answer: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matt. 22:36–40).

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