Stephen Kaufman, M.D., Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)
How Can We Love and Accept What We Despise in Ourselves? part 1
Last essay, I started to reflect on the following quotation from Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr: “We will continue to despise people, until we have
recognized, loved, and accepted what is despicable in ourselves.” I talked
about recognizing what we find despicable in ourselves; today I’ll explore
what it means to love those characteristics.
We all have attributes of which we are ashamed, which might include such
things as a quick temper, irrational jealousies, or sexual attraction to
someone other than one’s life partner. We are all imperfect creations, and
Paul observed that we all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
However, as Christians we are called to honor and respect everything God has
created, and that includes ourselves, warts and all.
I think we should love our shameful attributes in a similar way as we are
called to love our neighbor. We might not feel affection for our neighbor –
we might even dislike our neighbor – but we should still love our neighbor
because our neighbor is a reflection of God, our neighbor’s creator.
Therefore, we should treat our neighbor with respect and, to the degree that
is safely possible, kindness. Similarly, even as we strive to eradicate
those attributes of which we are ashamed, we should look respectfully and
kindly upon them, acknowledging that they are manifestations of our
brokenness and opportunities for growth.
Next essay, I will consider how we might accept what is despicable in
ourselves.
Go on to: How Can We
Love and Accept What We Despise in Ourselves? part 2
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Reflection on the Lectionary, Table of Contents