Dispiseth - 1 Thessalonians 4:7-12

4:7-8 - The people of Thessalonica, and by extention us, are asked to refrain from fornicaiton because "God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness." And it's interesting that Paul has just warned against "defrauding" and then goes on the say that "he therefore that despiseth, dispiseth not man, but God." That's an intriguing concept, when we hate others, we are really hating God. It's like saying that others are children of God and when we hate them we are actually hating God because what is the cause of our hate? Usually hate comes from our own insecurities. When we dispise someone, or ourselves which is usually the case, we are coming from a place of hurt and/or fear. They hurt us and we haven't gotten over it or we're afraid that they are going to hurt us again. When we have unresolved hurt, it's because we still need to work out our trauma with Jesus through the atonement. And when we are afraid that they'll hurt us again, we are not trusting that God can get us through any trauma that we might encounter. It's a very difficult concept, to be sure, and one that I personally struggle with quite a bit. I think that "dispiseth" can mean hate, or really just any negative feeling towards someone. And when we have negative feelings towards someone then we are going to treat them differently, I know because I just did it like an hour ago. We become combative and that negativity that we feel for them we bring into our own spirits, which breeds anger or fear, etc. and the Holy Ghost can't dwell in a space that has that negativity. The article on this chapter quotes Spencer W. Kimball as teaching, "In our journey toward eternal life, purity must be our constant aim. To wlak and talk with God, to serve with God, to follow his example and become as a god, we must attain perfection. In his presence there can be no guile, no wickedness, no transgression."So it really makes sense that we can't be purified without the Holy Ghost and we can't have the Holy Ghost if we are angry and hateful towards others. 4:9-12 - The opposite of "dispiseth" is "brotherly love" and Paul is grateful that he doesn't have to teach them about that because they "ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia." But even though they are doing well at it, he encourages them to "increase more and more." There's always room for improvemen. Some of the tools for increased learning are "study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands... that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing." The IM comments that Paul "encouraged them to endeavor to lead a quiet life, to not meddle in the affairs of others, to work with their own hands and avoid dependency on others, and to be honest. Concerning the idea of living a quiet life, Elder Bruce D. Porter of the Seventy taught: 'Personal prayer, study, and pondering are vital to the building up of the kingdom within our own souls. It is in quiet moments of contemplation and communion with the Almighty that we come to know and love Him as our Father." I think doing good and minding our own business would make such a difference in the world around us, so many problems would be solved if we just didn't have an opinion on what other people are doing, and if we were just nice. Again, there is a lot of insecurity that goes into getting involved in other people's lives and we all need to work on that. But we are happier when we don't need to have something negative to say about someone else.