Love That Says No

Many people know the story from the Gospel of Mark that tells of Jesus becoming angered at the "moneychangers" in the temple. He overturned tables and chairs and generally made a mess of their business operations, saying, "Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer? But you have made it a den of robbers." Those people in the temple sold "acceptable" sacrifices to those who travelled to Jerusalem, and had begun to take advantage of them, and were turning a pretty profit. But what was the point of Jesus' rant? He would leave the temple that day and the money changers would just continue to run their schemes. I think the point that Jesus made was actually more for those standing around than for the money changers, and I think the message was: "It's not ok with me that people take advantage of you". Consistently allowing others to abuse or humiliate us is not the same as loving those oppressors. Being taken advantage of is not a spiritual discipline. Sometimes love needs to say: "This is just not ok anymore". For those who suffer, standing up to the abuse or mistreatment is harder than words can say, and great support and courage are required. But if you have ever suffered mistreatment, please know that you matter more than you could possibly imagine. This topic is deeper than we can cover here, so I'll stop and invite any feedback you have.....