Does someone who refuses to reason negate this Scripture?
“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.” (Lev 19:17-18).
“Reason frankly with your neighbor.”
Sometimes that is easier said than done because some people do not want to reason, discuss or communicate. But does this mean we do not need to obey?
What are the consequences if we don’t? When we feel repeatedly used or sinned against and we don’t say something because someone isn’t reasonable, we become bitter. Or if we do try to something and they refuse to listen, we also still can become bitter causing us to “take revenge or bear a grudge.”
So what to do?
Sometimes it comes down to we just have to obey this Scripture and make an attempt(s) to “reason frankly.” If they don’t listen and refuse to talk, and we have obeyed in all sincerity and humility, then we can surrender it to the Lord. We can’t force other people’s willingness to come to terms. If they become abusive, we can and should set boundaries.
But if we don’t obey this Word, we will indeed become bitter.
And that bitterness will affect everything.
