Many Christian churches sang a song with the line “They will know we are Christians by our love by our love.” In today’s society, many vocal professed Christians are showing anything, but love. There is a pastor exercising revenge, degrading others and claiming Christ gave them the right to “sell their cloak and buy a sword,” thus attacking in defense is okay.

But in the Bibles I read, I see a lot of scriptures that say spitefulness and hate should not be the traits Christians exemplify, but rather love. Christians shouldn’t be attacking people who show a differing opinion. Rather, they should be engaging those people to help lead them to understanding that there are better ways.

Christians should not be attacking others because of their political affiliation or position on an issue. This is not to say you should support or agree with them, but rather to say that disagreement can be done without attacking, belittling, or degrading the other person.

This leads to the primary scripture for this post, Ephesians 4:29, which states:

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Building others up. Christianity is not about tearing down others, it is about building them up. It is about leading them to understand who Christ was and why He was important. In verses 31 and 32, more clarity is given:

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

In the end, just as Christ told Peter, a Christian should put down their sword. They should focus on setting a positive example in their actions and responses to others. People should be able to simply know you are a Christian by the love you show.