My six-year-old son was hurting his two-year-old brother while trying to keep him from unlocking the windows in his grandparents' living room.  Hearing yelling and screaming, I came in to see what was going on.  My older son said, "I know I was hurting him, but I had to keep bad guys out!"  

I said, "It's good to keep bad guys out, but you were still hurting your brother.  And you can't do that!"

Before that statement was completely out of my mouth, I was hearing Jesus' words about this very issue.  (I was also wondering if He might be "tapping on my shoulder" and saying, "Are you listening to this, Lauri?")  He said that the two greatest commandments were to love God and to love others.  Everything—all the other laws—are based on these.  

Jesus replied, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."  (Matthew 22:37-40)

The "religious" folks may be fighting "the bad guys," or demons, or evil in general, but sometimes they "hurt their brothers," who happen to be God's "sinner and tax collector" children (gays, people on drugs, etc.) and run them away from God while they're doing it.  Others of us give generously to strangers but hurt our own spouses, kids, and other family members.  Are we missing the whole point?  Are we absolutely blind?

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin.  But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.  You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.  You blind guides!  You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel."  —Jesus (Matthew 23:13-15; 23-24)

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven.  Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'  Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you.  Away from Me, you evildoers!'"  —Jesus  (Matthew 7:21-23)

Wow—it becomes painfully clear when it's played out right in front of your eyes.   Making me a parent was one of the best things God ever did to make me understand what He has been trying to tell me all these years.  I start to realize that His calling us "brothers and sisters" and His "children" are literally the perfect descriptions of the two most important relationships we have—with Him, and with each other.  We're made in His image—it seems logical that He'd make our relationships that way, too.

"It's good to fight evil—but DON'T damage your brother in the process!"  (And what is evil if it's not something that damages us?)