Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart. 

I Peter 1:22, NKJV

Society is rapidly deteriorating. At the heart of this deterioration appears to be a lack of love for one another, and we can witness that lack of love in the everyday conversations and interactions of people. Turn on your favorite "unbiased" news source, and it is likely that you will find a heated debate over the day's most pressing issues. Only this new kind of debate is really not a debate at all - it's an argument! Turn to your preferred business channel, and you will likely find the same type of sordid conflict, regardless of how innocuous the subject may be. Why, even on the sports channel, people cannot seem to converse without resorting to conflict and mean-spirited accusations towards anyone who dares to hold a different opinion.

Our "entertainment venues of television and the movies are often filled with disrespectful conversations that soon degrade in violence over the slightest of disagreements. Popular culture has seen a "rap" style of music that is often a battle of the music stars insulting one another to a rhythmic beat. Then we have the "race hustlers" in every genre of the industry who seem intent on doing little more than spreading disharmony through the propagation of racial tensions.

And it is not limited to our media either. If you have been to a political town hall meeting in recent years, or even a local school board meeting, you have likely been shocked at the harsh manner in which people speak to one another. I realize that we all have different opinions, but how can we treat one another so badly at the same time that we are talking about the well-being of our communities, nation and children? And this should not be a surprise to us, for even at church meetings that are held for the specific cause of spreading the Gospel or for helping people with genuine needs, these forums often devolve into bitter words and evil accusations towards our fellow Christian's motives.

What is going on?

Well, it should not surprise us when the people of the world cannot get along, but it ought to shake us to the core when we witness (or sometimes even take part in) uncivil and unloving conversations between those who represent themselves as brothers and sisters in Christ. So, if we want to diagnose the problem, we really have to go no farther than this: If we are experiencing a hatefulness of conversation and conduct, it is for the simple reason that we have abandoned our duty to love one another deeply from the heart!

It is a matter of contrast that will help. The opposite of good health is sickness. The opposite of winning is losing. And the opposite of love is hate!

In John 13:34, Jesus said this: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another." The apostles to whom Christ was speaking to might have been startled at the idea that loving one another was a new commandment but, of course, it was the way Jesus qualified the statement that made it new: They were to love one another as their Lord had loved them.

And this, I believe, is the key! If we are ever to return to a civility in conduct and in speech, we are going to have to first love one another as Jesus loved us. When we have this kind of noble love for each other, it is hard to remain in conflict because when you care so deeply for someone else, it is almost impossible to treat them in a hateful way. Just imagine how different society would be if our gatherings really were for the promotion of what was best for each other. I believe that our public forums would quickly be elevated into civil meetings where people really did respect and honor one another above themselves. We would then be seeking how to work together to solve our problems, rather than remaining in fierce competition to get our way over everyone else's.

If we truly loved one another as Jesus loves us, I believe we would see a change - in our nation, in our communities, in our schools and in the Lord's church. The problem can indeed be solved, but it will have to begin with a return to this basic principle: If we want to get rid of the hateful speech and conduct, we are first going to have to return to a genuine love for one another. And while the problems we face may seem insurmountable, with love, they can be conquered. 

One last thought: My children and grandchildren are worth any amount of effort and hard work necessary to restore this much needed civility to our society. Aren't yours?