I was reading a blog writtem by John Eldredge this morning, called "Of Course" and it got me to thinking. The world that we live in right now is obsessed with everyone getting along and doing what they feel is right for them, regardless of whether it is seen as the right thing by anyone else. The old mantra of "If it feels good do it!" is living large in our society today.
There is a bumper sticker that kind of reflects what John was saying in his blog.
It reads "coexist" in various religious symbols. And while that does sound like a good thing, that we should all live together in peace and harmony, it is a pipe dream. We already do coexist, but at what cost?
It reads "coexist" in various religious symbols. And while that does sound like a good thing, that we should all live together in peace and harmony, it is a pipe dream. We already do coexist, but at what cost? I seem to remember Jesus saying that there will be wars, and rumors of wars. (Mark 13:6-8) He did not say that everyone would get along, because if they were all going to get along, He would have said something like, "When you see everyone living together in peace and harmony..."
I don't think we need to be rude and call people names or anything like that, after all Jesus did tell us that they would know we are Christians because we have love one to another. Like the Scripture says that John quoted; James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
To quote from John's blog: "We are really, really big on the social justice part right now. That is super cool. Very "in." But we are unsure if we want to deal with the second half of the passage. That part is not so cool at the moment." We don't seem to care whether or not we are polluted by the world and its influence in our lives, as long as we are doinig good to our fellow man.
I don't know about you, but I want to stand before Jesus one day and be able to say that I was not polluted by the world...how about you?
3 comments:
So, your enemies are those who are tolerant of others? It sounds like YOU are the one who has been polluted by "the World" by being so afraid of the differences in others. To you,and people like you, anyone who is not your brand of Christian is "the enemy". You have failed to understand Yeshua's(Google it) message to "Love one another as I have Loved you." I know...Christians think that this means to only Love other Christians...how convenient, in that it allows you to hate "others". And yes, we have to Co-exist with hate mongers like you, which takes a great deal of tolerance. So when you are raptured up, remember to give me a wave, will ya? Peace out!!!
Take a lesson from Mother Teresa. She loved and served the poorest of the poor and she didn't care if they were Hindu, Muslim or what their religious background was. In each person she saw Jesus, giving that person worth and value that each child of God deserves. She did as Jesus commanded: Love your God with all your heart, mind and strength; Love your neighbor and Love your enemy. No where in the scriptures did he admonish us to self-righteously judge others so that we might feel better about ourselves. Christ epitomized love in both his words and actions. It's all about love. God bless.
Tracey – I am not “enemies” with people who are tolerant of others. I’m not enemies with anyone. In the title of my blog “Tolerance…the New Face of the Enemy”, the term “enemy” that I used was not for people, but rather satan, who is the enemy of mankind. (I apologize if that was unclear.) And as to the differences in others, I am not “afraid” of that either. You used the label “people like you” to describe me, and yet, to my knowledge we have never met. How is it that from reading my blog you can determine what kind of person I am? I am really interested in how you came to the conclusion that I am a “hate monger” and that I hate people, all because I have an opinion. It is obvious that you disagree with my point of view, and that is okay, but a “hate monger”, really? I’ve got to be honest with you as I re-read this blog; I don’t see how you can come to the conclusion that I am a “hate monger”. Anyhow, thanks for your comment, and have a great day.
Paul – I agree with you about Mother Teresa. As to what I wrote, I am not trying to, as you said, “self-righteously judge others so that we might feel better about ourselves”. I didn’t write this blog to “feel better” about myself, it is just an opinion that I have and a comment on what I see in our society today. Thanks for sharing your comment with me; I’m glad that we live in a society where we can have discussions like this. Have a great day.
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