Dear Family and Friends,

Would you like to know what retired pastors do in their spare time?

I don’t know about others but this one spends his spare time pulling weeds every other day.

A neighbor who lives upwind has grown dirt in his front yard for decades. True story, I’m not making this up.

And because dirt is ideal for cultivating weeds, his yard became ground zero for the Great Oahu Crabgrass Invasion of 2022 – 2024.

To make matters worse, he weed whacks his yard once a month, sharing the seeds of his crop with all who live within a half mile radius.

I admit, there have been days when I thought about driving slowly by and dousing his yard with Roundup. Or dressing in dark clothes and sneaking over there in the middle of the night.

And then I read this verse.

“Do not plot harm against your neighbor, who lives trustfully near you.”  ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Ugh!

This verse and the two preceding verses are examples of the commandment Jesus gave us – to love our neighbors.

“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.
Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you’— when you already have it with you.”  ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭27‬-‭28 NIV‬‬

Why would loving our neighbors be in the Book of Proverbs?

Let me share this quote from an unknown author.

“One of the clearest and most powerful manifestations of a heart of wisdom is the way one treats one’s neighbor.”

In other words, a person of wisdom treats his or her neighbor with love.

Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”  ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22‬:‭37‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Greek word Matthew wrote for ‘love’ is agape.

What is agape love?

It’s not what we think it is.

Agape love as used here means to embrace God’s will, choosing His choices, and obeying them through His power. It means to actively do what the Lord prefers, with Him and by His power and direction.

It’s an affection for others involving choice and selection.

In other words, agape love is not the love we normally think of, love that comes from the heart. It’s not emotional affection.

Agape love is an expression that comes from our minds that’s based on reason, not emotions.

And because it’s a decision-based love, where we actively choose between following the Lord’s will or not, we are able to love our enemies  – – and neighbors who grow weeds. 

Proverbs 3:27-28 says the choice is ours to make.

We can choose to withhold doing good, or we can follow God’s will. We can choose to not help our neighbor when we can, or we can choose to help since we can.

If you stop to think about this, we agape love someone whenever we serve them with no expectation of anything in return.

We agape love when we choose to not do to others what they rightfully deserve, and serve them instead.

Say, this is what Jesus choose to do for us when we were still sinners…  

Praying that we all become wise in the eyes of our Lord.

In love always,