Interpretation of the Bible / Romans 12:9

Love is one of the central themes of the Bible, and Romans 12:9 is one of the clearest and most concise verses when it comes to defining true love. In this passage, Paul calls for living a genuine love, without feigning feelings or emotions, and rejecting anything that is contrary to Christian values.

Love without pretense

When we talk about love, we are often tempted to fake feelings or emotions in order to please others or even ourselves. However, true love cannot be based on lies or hypocrisy. Instead, it must be sincere and genuine, with the goal of bringing good to others.

This is reflected in the fact that in the original Greek, the word for “pretense” is “anypokritos,” which means “without hypocrisy.” In other words, love cannot be faked or hidden, but must be sincere and transparent.

Abhor evil

If we are to live a genuine love, we must also be able to hate evil. This means that we must be willing to reject behavior, actions, or attitudes that are contrary to Christian values.

In this sense, the Apostle Paul makes a clear distinction between good and evil. And to live a life of genuine love, we cannot simply accept everything we see or hear, but must be critical of our surroundings and consciously choose what is right and what is wrong.

Following the good

Finally, Romans 12:9 calls us to pursue what is good. Having hated evil, we must be able to seek and pursue everything that is just, honest, and virtuous.

This is especially important in a world where we are often bombarded with negative and destructive messages. But if we are to live a life of genuine love, we must be able to identify and pursue what is good, rejecting everything that does not edify us.