While the phrase "Be in the world but not of the world" is sometimes used as justification to avoid interacting with others who are different, Papa D reminds us that applying the Sermon on the Mount means we "must interact with others to do good to them."
Simply put, the "do good" clause knows no boundaries, even among those we might prefer to avoid:
Also, an insight on "abstain from all appearance of evil":
"Perhaps one of the most misunderstood scriptures in the entire Bible. In its original usage, it does not mean to avoid anything that even looks like evil - that appears to be evil. Rather, it means something like the following: "Abstain from evil no matter its appearance - no matter how it looks."
"...The focus is not on avoiding anything that someone else might perceive to be bad, but rather to avoid that which truly is evil."
"We can't become truly charitable in isolation, and we can't become truly charitable through only an intellectual understanding of it. At some point, we simply must LIVE it."
Also, an insight on "abstain from all appearance of evil":
"Perhaps one of the most misunderstood scriptures in the entire Bible. In its original usage, it does not mean to avoid anything that even looks like evil - that appears to be evil. Rather, it means something like the following: "Abstain from evil no matter its appearance - no matter how it looks."
"...The focus is not on avoiding anything that someone else might perceive to be bad, but rather to avoid that which truly is evil."
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