The Bible is full of instructions on how Christians should treat other people. For example, Jesus tells us to “love [our] enemies” (Matthew 5:44), Paul commands us to respectfully submit to “governing authorities” (Romans 13:1), and James reminds us to care for “widows and orphans in their distress” (James 1:27).
The Bible also provides specific instructions on how we should treat each other. Not only do we have a responsibility to act in a certain way among those outside of the church, but we also have an obligation to act in certain ways toward our brothers and sisters in Christ.
God’s word commands us to be loving toward each other. John repeatedly instructs Christians to “love one another” (1 John 3:11, 23, 4:7, 11, 12). This is not a warm and fuzzy or romantic sort of love but one that comes from genuine concern for another person’s well-being.
We are commanded to be forgiving toward each other. The forgiveness we have received from God needs to remind us of our obligation to forgive other Christians continually. In Colossians, Paul wrote, “Just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you” (3:13).
We are also commanded to be humble toward each other. Peter wrote that we are to “clothe [ourselves] with humility toward one another” (1 Peter 5:5). We must never treat each other with a prideful attitude but should always put others’ needs above our own.
While we may often focus more on demonstrating how a Christian should live to the world around us, we must never fail to present the same traits among our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Matt Langfield