One of the most fundamental aspects of loving your neighbor is treating other human beings like they are the image of God…because they are. Just as I am the image of God, so also is my neighbor, my brother, my sister, my friend, my roommate. There is dignity, worth, and value that are to be ascribed to every person on the planet simply because of their status as image bearers.
It’s something that I thought I was pretty good at.
Perpetrators of human trafficking don’t recognize or honor the image of God in those they hurt. I’m not a trafficker. Check.
Abusive family members don’t recognize or honor the image of God in those they abuse. I’m not an abuser. Check.
Powerful political groups don’t recognize or honor the image of God in those they oppress. I’m not an oppressor. Check.
Racists don’t recognize or honor the image of God in certain groups of people. I’m not a racist. Check.
I could give myself a pat on the back and move on.
But God didn’t let me stay there. He brought a book to my hands that showed me the ways that are much more subtle that I do not honor the image of God in my neighbor as I ought. Jen Wilkin expanded my understanding of the ten commandments in her book Ten Words to Live By. And in gaining an expanded understanding of what it means to obey the ten commandments, I have also had my understanding of what it means to honor the image of God in others expanded.
Gossip doesn’t recognize or honor the image of God in others.
Contempt doesn’t recognize or honor the image of God in others.
Pride doesn’t recognize or honor the image of God in others.
An unsubmissive heart doesn’t recognize or honor the image of God in others.
Jealousy doesn’t recognize or honor the image of God in others.
Anger doesn’t recognize or honor the image of God in others.
Lust doesn’t recognize or honor the image of God in others.
Denigrating words or thoughts don’t recognize the image of God in others.
Ouch. My heart is an ugly place!
It’s comfortable to keep my understanding of sin to the big things – sexual abuse, murder, kidnapping. It’s easy to check a box and say, “Well, I haven’t done that, so I’m good.”
But to truly follow God’s law, to truly love my neighbor as myself, I need to look deeper. I need to look at the things that are “acceptable” ways to sin and see how I have fallen short. I need to be reminded that gossip and denigrating thoughts are just as deplorable to God as murder.
The truth is that every day this week I have said or thought something that has dishonored an image bearer.
Sometimes I can see it on my own. But usually I am blinded as I pat myself on the back for not committing a “big” sin. In those moments I need a book like Ten Words to Live By to open my eyes and shine a light on the darkness of my sinful heart.
This week my eyes have been opened to the ways that I do not honor people around me as image bearers. I have been deeply convicted. I have spent time confessing to the Lord how I have dishonored him by dishonoring people around me in word and in thought. And I have asked for his help to go forward into the new week with eyes that see each person I encounter as a precious image bearer. May that root out the gossip, contempt, denigration, anger, and bitterness that have made their home deep in my heart.