Do You Hear What I Hear?

Jewish Law required lepers to shout "unclean!" (Leviticus 13:45) in order to warn others to stay away and avoid coming into contact with their disease.  I remember years ago reading one Biblical commentator expound upon the reasons behind this particular dictate.  He believed this practice was instituted by God to not only warn and protect people from the affliction of leprosy, but it was also meant to incite compassion within the heart of God's people and prompt them to pray for those less fortunate.  Sadly, it was used solely to judge and alienate the "unclean" from the rest of society.

That got me thinking... what about now?  What things do people cry out today through their words and actions that generate my judgments rather than my prayers? 

THIEF!  SLUT!  LIAR!  WICKED!  LAZY!  ARROGANT!  HYPOCRITE!  LOSER!

The list goes on and on.  We know them.  We've been hurt by them.  And sometimes we have even been them.  But maybe if we dug a little deeper, we would see these actions and these people are really crying: HURT!  SCARED!  BLIND!  BROKEN!  ALONE!  SAD!  Ultimately they are crying out, "unclean."

What modern day lepers do you encounter?  Jesus offers some advice for dealing with those who might incite our wrath or condemnation rather than our concern.  It may not be easy, but the righteous path rarely is. 

"...I tell you who hear Me: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."  (Luke 6:27-28)