“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” -Romans 12:9
Paul moves from encouraging believers to use their spiritual gifts for the benefit of others to a general statement about the attitude that should motivate the believers’ use of gifts—genuine love.
In the next verse, he will home in on more specific applications of love but here he makes a general and inclusive statement about ἀγάπη (agape). The Greek word translated love in this case has a variety of applications but it is typically used when it applies in the most generous and unrestricted sense possible.
Love should be genuine, Paul says. The word genuine is from the Greek word, ἀνυπόκριτος, (anhypokritos) meaning without pretense or hypocrisy; literally, αν means without and ὑποκριτής means pretending or acting.
What naturally accompanies this kind of love is being oriented rightly toward that which is good and evil—abhorring what is evil (the privation or corruption of good) while holding onto or standing by that which is good.
Genuine, sincere love can only be oriented this way.
Don’t want Crumbs delivered every day?
Navigate to your.substack.com/account and toggle off Crumbs From Our Master’s Table. Instead of receiving Crumbs in your inbox daily, you will receive a collection of the week’s Crumbs each Sunday as part of your BOOKS AND LETTERS subscription.
