“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all [different types] men.”  (Romans 13)

 

Sherlock Holmes and Professor James Moriarty were fast enemies. They were both hardliners or extreme in their roles in life and being so they were polar opposites.  Holmes was a man of honour and justice and would not relent until both be satisfied.  Moriarty on the other hand was a master criminal. He was the “Most dangerous man in all of London, next to Charles Augustas Milverton, the master black mailer and Sebastian Moran, great game hunter and lieutenant to Moriarty. Another commonality between the two (2) opposites was their genius. These men had respect for the other’s abilities but they could not exist together in the city of London…one had to go. Even with their genius and respect for one (1) another they could not be peaceable with one another.

This is true in life, whether we want to admit it or not.  Reader, There are some persons you will not be able to be at peace with, whether it’s you that are not comfortable around them or they are not comfortable around you. This is not a moral failing.  As One must love one’s brother, one’s neighbor and one’s enemy, it is not essential to “like them.” There is a difference betwenn the two (2). Loving is desiring God’s best for another, praying for another, blessing another, and not cursing them or wishing something bad happens to them or being the channel whereby something bad happens.  One must “overcome evil with good” and never “recompense evil for evil.” One must not and cannot use the love them but not like them principle in order to be un Christ-like towards them as that would dishonour God, who is kind to the “just and the unjust.”

I have heard other Christ-ians equate liking and getting along with someone with the concept of Biblical love.  If you’re one that dislikes a person and do not mix with them no matter how you try to…it is fine and not a moral, ethical, or Christ-ian failing. I know “Whom I have believed” and I can tell you, He did not and does not like everyone He brushed shoulders with.

When you see Christ in His dealings among the Pharisee (John 8), the Saducee, the Herodians, the scribes, lawyers, the priests, and royalty one cannot say He liked them. In “The Case of the Self Exalting and Self Honouriing Pharisee” Christ, as Man did not like them and as God did not love them. Our Master, in one exchange, condemned some (not all) of the Pharisee in a public setting, for they bore the “Proud look” in their faces and harboured pride deep within the darkened crevices of their deceived, deceiving and hardened hearts.
Sketched upon the visage, the countenance or the canvas of the face is the revelation of the intents, purposes and motives within the heart and mind of the Pharisee. The anti -virtues were paraded before the Lord, Who “[Looks] upon all things” and “knew what was in the heart of man.”  The expressions of contempt and murderous intent were shouting at our Lord, for that which resides within the heart of the Pharisee are those anti-virtues….the seven (7) things that God hates (Proverbs 6).

Our Lord, in His sinlessness, strength of Character, and sincerity condemned these men as He said, “Ye are of your father, the devil and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.”
The Observing Christ said the devil was their father twice. He told them that they would be the ones to murder Him and “bear false witness” against Him with their “lying tongues,” and they had the hands that would “shed [His] innocent [B]lood.” The Pharisee found pleasure in “running to mischief” and entertaining the “heart that devises wicked imaginations.”  There was no way that Christ and the Pharisee would get along. The Pharisee were actively “sowing discord among [the] brethren” of Israel.  (Proverbs 6)

There is also, “The Adventure of the Envious, Frustrated, and Self-Willed King and the Sovereign’s Selected Successor.”  God had rejected and set Himself in opposition (Biblical hatred) to King Saul and elected the shepherd, David bar Jesse, to sit upon the throne. God had put a heart that was styled after His Own within the Poetical Shepherd-King. God could and would trust this man that would reign and be jealous over the Honour and Glory of God. God would get along well with King David. Of course there would be instances when God had to deal severely with His chosen king because David, as great as he was, was a man, “proned to wander” as are we all.

Though God and David would get along well, the rejected king and the elect king could not and would not.  The envious, frustrated and self-willed king would seek to hunt David down and kill Him. However, with God as his Strength and Defender, Who would teach David’s “fingers to fight and hands to war” and would be “for him” so that no man could then be, “against him” would give David the Refuge for his person, his spirit, and his God-trusting heart, thereby establishing David’s reign as King.

We also have, “The Case of the Two Tired and Tried Traveling Preachers.”  Paul and Barnabas, though both saints, friends, associates, colleagues, fellow-labourers, and proclaimers of the Gospel came to a point where they “Two …[could not walk] together” as Elijah and Elisha had in the Old Testament. They were in disagreement over Barnabas’ nephew, John Mark.
John Mark (Writer of the Gospel of Mark), being an associate of the traveling preachers, “departed” and returned home during the missionary journey.  Barnabas wanted to bring John Mark back into the fold after he had departed but Paul would not have it. These two (2) great men broke company over this non-negotiable. Right or wrong, these two (2) parted company just as Abraham and Lot in the Old Testament.

Reader, as Christ-ians we are to love those around us…in the Biblical sense. We’re not speaking of affection or feelings, necessarily, but of being Christ-like and doing and desiring that which is best for others. But there will be times and seasons when there is no possibility of getting along with others.  This does not relect any failure or weakness in your Christ-ian character…it is simply the way things are.  Of course, this is not an excuse to give up or to cast people off. We must attempt to help others and seek what is best for them, but when the possibilities of being at peace are trampled upon and are abused…it is what it is and it is time to move on.

Godspeed.