Love and Disclaimers

Ever notice how we LOVE to use disclaimers to give ourselves breaks from really loving others.

I’ve often thought about this and how easy it is to become disrespectful of others. I’ve done it, and I’m sure most everyone has done it.

I love the use of disclaimers, like using disclaimers make things okay.

Sometimes we’ll say something like, “With all due respect,” and then show a complete lack of respect for a person; presuming of course, by saying, ‘with all due respect,” made it okay.

Or, “I don’t mean to offend you, but,” and then they offend you.

Or, “I really shouldn’t be saying this, but,” and then they say it.

My favorite, of course, is when people say, “I say this in all Christian love,” and then they eviscerate whoever they were speaking to.

The premise of course is this. If you say a disclaimer, you can be as disrespectful as you want to be. This is, of course, completely bogus. Love is patient and kind. Patience and kindness demands we be respectful of others. It doesn’t matter if they are a spouse or partner, child, friend, relative, classmate, church-mate, stranger on the street. Paul’s words yell out to us to be patient and kind. It means that whoever we meet in life, whoever we interact with, is a person we must treat with respect. That is what the mandate of love means.

Maybe we need to be cautious about how we use the word, 'but.'

Okay, that's all. I didn't mean for this post to be so personal, but....