Just Love
“Love thy neighbor” is wonderful as a heavenly theory. But it is hell on wheels to practice. Oh, it sounds good, but when you start thinking about the implications of what this means, it is hard to swallow. Sure, loving “people” is easy. We will all do what we can do for the common good. The community at large is a snap to love. But loving particular people, specific people, well, we would rather not, thank you very much. There are individuals we all know who just wear us out. When you see them coming up the walk, park in the driveway, or note their number on the caller ID, it is all you can do not to take a handful of tranquilizers, chased with a fifth of bourbon, and crawl into bed for three days.
They are emotional vacuum cleaners that just suck the life out of you. Love these people? You have got to be kidding! These hard to love people are the Pig Pens of life. Do you remember Pig Pen from Charlie Brown and the Peanuts? When ever he walked into a room he brought with him this huge, noxious, boiling cloud. And if someone got too close to him, even in conversation, they were overwhelmed by the fog and stench of it all. He smelled bad. He loved garbage. He would not wash behind his ears or anywhere else for that matter.
I always wondered, “Why won’t his mother clean that boy up?” I heard it all the time growing up: “There’s no shame in being poor, son, but even a poor man can take a bath.” So come on Pig Pen, help yourself out a little bit. But maybe what God is saying when he tells us to love others is just that: Love them. Don’t try to clean them up. Don’t try to fix them, as if you could. Don’t analyze or diagnose them, just love them. Yes, even when they stink. Even when their phone call, as Anne Lamott says, weighs a ton to pick up. Even when the murkiness and drama of their life suffocates you. Even when you find it impossible, because you often will, love them: No more, no less, no substitute.
