Have You Read Romans?

Sunday our pastor referred to Romans 12:1 in his sermon.  I had my bible (remember the one my dad gave me and has taken thorough notes in) opened and 12:9-21 caught my eye.  Have you read it?  How about, "...Hate what is evil; cling to what is good."  Or "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves."  What about "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay".  Oh how these words go against the grain in our society today.  Today we are supposed to tolerate evil.  We pay to watch it, listen to it, and willingly partake in it.  Society pushes and pushes that we think about ourselves, look out for ourselves, make sure that we are taken care of, when God tells us very plainly that it should be the other way around...we should be honoring others before us!  That's a paradigm shift!!!  And let's not start on revenge!!!!  How many reality tv shows focus on revenge...payback...righting the wrongs.  Stop...wait...the bible tells us as much as we can to live in peace with one another.  Let God handle the revenge.  Is it only my heart that is being convicted?  If we profess to be Christians (ugh-I dislike that word) or how about followers of Christ- then shouldn't we act like it?  As corny as it sounds, the bible is our instruction manual...we should read it and follow it.  We should not accept the things society throws at us.  How would our nation be different if followers of Christ really acted like followers of Christ?