Friday, June 1, 2012
New Blog!!
So, I have been working for about a month now at a veterinary clinic (yay!) because I finally finished school =) and I decided to start a new blog about my experiences there and with some other information for you and your pets! It's called Your Pet's Favorite Blog, and you can find it right here!!! Thanks for reading!
Monday, March 26, 2012
MDA Muscle Walk
On St. Patrick's day, we went down to Lafayette to support the MDA and have a good time. I love going every year, and it kind of makes me sad that it doesn't get as much attention as I feel it deserves. This year I noticed some of the same people that were there last year. Next year I think that I will introduce our tiny group to those huge groups. It is always nice to make friends and grow your support system! Anyway, Jacob was actually old enough to have a good time this year, too! I was pregnant with him the first year and last year he was too tiny to have a good time.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Christian Love vs. Tolerance Part 4
Once again I apologize that it has been so long between the posts in this series. I am not one to make excuses for myself because I believe that if something or someone is important to you, you make time for it (or save up money for it, or practice it, or whatever the case may be.. you spend resources to prioritize it in your life). Unfortunately, I have failed to make this a priority in my life the past few weeks. However, I started this series because I felt led to do so, so I need to see it through.
At this time I would like to talk about what Tolerance looks like.
I tolerate my son whining when I know he is tired. (He doesn't know how to express himself)
I tolerate him playing with my phone when we are out and he has nothing else to play with. (I don't want him throwing a fit in public)
I tolerate him hanging all over me. (He is little and I will miss his affection when he is older)
I tolerate him pulling on his little brother. (He wants to play with him, and I want them to get along)
I tolerate people exaggerating stories to me. (Some people don't even realize they are doing it)
I tolerate people being lazy.. sometimes. (It's nicer for me to just do more work than to get into a conflict and lose my temper)
I tolerate the house being messy. (I need to focus on taking care of the kids, doing homework, and spending time with my husband)
I tolerate Gav's work schedule. (We need to survive!)
None of these things are things that I particularly like, but I put up with them. I deal with them.
The idea is pretty much the same when dealing with our friends, family, acquaintances, enemies, etc. who do not claim to be Christian. We can love them, or we can put up with them.
Tolerating them looks like this:
I don't like that you're gay, but I'm just going to ignore it. It's not that big of a deal.
I don't like that you're atheist, but we can be friends if we don't have to talk about religion. It's your soul.
I don't like that you sleep around, but it's none of my business. It's your future.
What I am trying to convey is that Love vs. Tolerance is mostly about attitude.
And do not for one second think that a person can not tell what your attitude about them is. I will grant that some people seem pretty clueless.. and probably are.. but the vast majority of people know (even if they don't act like it) when you are "putting up" with them, and when you are actually "okay" with them.
At this time I would like to talk about what Tolerance looks like.
I tolerate my son whining when I know he is tired. (He doesn't know how to express himself)
I tolerate him playing with my phone when we are out and he has nothing else to play with. (I don't want him throwing a fit in public)
I tolerate him hanging all over me. (He is little and I will miss his affection when he is older)
I tolerate him pulling on his little brother. (He wants to play with him, and I want them to get along)
I tolerate people exaggerating stories to me. (Some people don't even realize they are doing it)
I tolerate people being lazy.. sometimes. (It's nicer for me to just do more work than to get into a conflict and lose my temper)
I tolerate the house being messy. (I need to focus on taking care of the kids, doing homework, and spending time with my husband)
I tolerate Gav's work schedule. (We need to survive!)
None of these things are things that I particularly like, but I put up with them. I deal with them.
The idea is pretty much the same when dealing with our friends, family, acquaintances, enemies, etc. who do not claim to be Christian. We can love them, or we can put up with them.
Tolerating them looks like this:
I don't like that you're gay, but I'm just going to ignore it. It's not that big of a deal.
I don't like that you're atheist, but we can be friends if we don't have to talk about religion. It's your soul.
I don't like that you sleep around, but it's none of my business. It's your future.
What I am trying to convey is that Love vs. Tolerance is mostly about attitude.
And do not for one second think that a person can not tell what your attitude about them is. I will grant that some people seem pretty clueless.. and probably are.. but the vast majority of people know (even if they don't act like it) when you are "putting up" with them, and when you are actually "okay" with them.
MDA Muscle Walk Donations
My husband has muscular dystrophy, so this cause is very important to me, and extremely close to my heart.
Every year, we participate in the Lafayette, LA Muscle Walk sponsored by the Muscular Dystrophy Association. This year we got our packet in late, so I am very VERY late posting this (we only have 1 week to do our fundraising for the walk!!) However, I would love to invite any and all who want to donate to follow the link below. You can then either search for participants: Katie Montgomery (that's me!) or Gavin Montgomery (that's my husband!) or Search for Team: Gavin's Gang. Then you will have to click on either the participant name or the team name (it really doesn't matter which) and on the right it will have the option to donate. Click it!! It's a very simple process, it will walk you right on through it. We really appreciate any little bit. What I am doing for people who donate in person is I am putting their name in a hat and drawing for a Walmart Gift Card.. probably around $20. If I can figure out a way to do that with the people who donate online, too, then I will, just for a little incentive (and I do mean little.. I know $20 doesn't go far..)
Anyway, please consider a donation. It would really mean a lot to me and my family <3 Thanks, Katie
Muscle Walk Link
Every year, we participate in the Lafayette, LA Muscle Walk sponsored by the Muscular Dystrophy Association. This year we got our packet in late, so I am very VERY late posting this (we only have 1 week to do our fundraising for the walk!!) However, I would love to invite any and all who want to donate to follow the link below. You can then either search for participants: Katie Montgomery (that's me!) or Gavin Montgomery (that's my husband!) or Search for Team: Gavin's Gang. Then you will have to click on either the participant name or the team name (it really doesn't matter which) and on the right it will have the option to donate. Click it!! It's a very simple process, it will walk you right on through it. We really appreciate any little bit. What I am doing for people who donate in person is I am putting their name in a hat and drawing for a Walmart Gift Card.. probably around $20. If I can figure out a way to do that with the people who donate online, too, then I will, just for a little incentive (and I do mean little.. I know $20 doesn't go far..)
Anyway, please consider a donation. It would really mean a lot to me and my family <3 Thanks, Katie
Muscle Walk Link
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Christian Love vs. Tolerance Part 3
Hello everyone! In my last post, I attempted to explain the difference in love and tolerance. This time I will try to discuss what each of these looks like, and if time allows, I will try to give examples of how we are able to live out Christian love in our lives and veer away from simply being "tolerant."
Okay, I guess the easiest place to start is 1 Corinthians 13: The Love Chapter. While this well known passage tells us "what love is" and "what love is not," I think we must forget often. Either that or we don't take the necessary time to let it soak in. So, let's examine this passage more closely to better understand what love looks like.
4 Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not boast, it does not envy, it is not proud.
We have all met people who are always negative about every single thing. Nothing can go right in their lives. People like that drive me crazy. Crazy! I find it difficult, and quite honestly, exhausting, to be around them. I just want to scream at them and run the other way if they ever come to me for anything. But, that would not be patient nor would it be kind. Being patient would mean that I need to bare with them and continue to be there for them time after time. And to be kind, I can't just BE there for them.. I have to be nice about it. I can't let my annoyance show through.
An even better example for our topic would be something more along the lines of this: You have a friend who is having premarital sex. You have talked extensively with her about your beliefs (because remember, we are talking about our Non-Christian counterparts here) about sex and how it belongs in marriage. Yet, time after time she comes to you with stories of her newest guy or her latest heartbreak. Each time you use as an opportunity to share Jesus with her and share how that lifestyle is not what He wants for her life. She always agrees with an, "I know" and a nod, but gets right back out there in the game. You are getting tired of being ignored, but each time you comfort her with a kind word about how she deserves better and how God intended for her to have a better life than this. That is patience. That is kindness.
Notice in our example what you are NOT doing. You are not being boastful. Let's say that you are in a committed relationship, either marriage or dating the same person for a long time. You are not rubbing this in her face. Also, if you waited until you were married to have sex, you are not bragging about it. This will make her feel as though you think you are better than she is. You aren't. Of course you are allowed (and should) use yourself as an example that it can be done IF that comes up, but you are not to bring it up just to make her feel bad or just to make yourself feel good. This is the truth for any circumstance. You are not to make people feel bad because of your accomplishments, successes, possessions, etc. (and by "you" I mean "we").
Love does not envy. I think this is probably self explanatory. We are not to wish for what others have (this is a commandment as well). If we see something that we want, we can set goals for ourselves and earn it, but we are not supposed to hold it against the person who already has it. Nor are we to harm them in any way (physically, emotionally, reputation, etc) in order to get what they have.
Love is not proud. We are to swallow our pride. Period. If we think we are right about something to the point that we aren't listening to the other person, or we are shooting down every idea they come up with then we need an attitude adjustment.
5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not dishonor others. We are not to harm another person's reputation. We aren't to embarrass them. We are not to do anything to make others think poorly of them. Boys and girls, you need to listen carefully to this, because I know that we are in the habit of trying to trash our ex girlfriends and boyfriends. Let me just say, whatever happens to end your relationship is between you and your ex. Not the whole entire world. If you need to talk to someone about what happened to get over it, that is fine. You have friends that you can talk to. But you don't need to go telling every person who asks what happened, and you definitely don't need to seek out people who don't care to tell them. AND you especially do not need to be telling your ex's friends or family what happened. That is his or her business. If your ex wants those close to him or her to know what happened, he or she will tell them. I get so sick of seeing people telling the business of their ex all over Facebook, and I get tired of hearing stories about how ex (usually ex bf's) try to ruin a person's life by telling their business to people who need to stay clued out. That is so wrong on so many levels. It is unforgiving and it is unloving. And that is my rant for the day, I hope.
Love is not self-seeking. In other words, it is not selfish. I'm sure we can all think of selfish attitudes and actions. Eating the last piece of pie when not everyone has had a piece, using all the hot water in the shower, making your husband take care of the kids when he has already been home with them all day while you work (or in my case, go to school), leaving messes for others to clean up, etc. We shouldn't do those selfish things.
Love is not easily angered. It is not wrong to be angry. Jesus got angry, God gets angry. It's okay to be angry. But it takes a lot to get love angry. Love doesn't get angry just because your friend is too busy to talk to you. It doesn't get angry just because your husband forgot to wash the dishes or because your wife forgot to iron your shirt. I kind of think this goes hand-in-hand with being patient, because if you are patient with someone's mistakes you are not going to become angry at the drop of a hat.
Love keeps no records of wrongs. Self-explanatory. We aren't supposed to hold grudges or keep up with how many times someone did us wrong. That old saying, "Fooled me once, shame on you; fooled me twice, shame on me" does not apply here. We are to forgive and forgive and keep forgiving. This includes our friends who lie to us to get out of hanging out with us, our boyfriends that cheat on us (spouses, too), our neighbor who stole $20 when we weren't looking. No matter how large or small the offense, we are not to hold grudges or keep holding it against the person who has wronged us.
6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
So, when love sees someone being picked on, it doesn't laugh along. Love doesn't enjoy movies or music with filth throughout. Love doesn't like compliments that are made up to make someone feel better. Love would rather give the truth to someone gracefully and gently than lie to make a person feel good. Love rejoices with the truth. Basically, if it's of the devil (evil), love does not delight in it, but if it is of Jesus (the truth), love rejoices.
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love always protects. Love protects people being picked on, love protects those doing right, love protects the helpless, love protects marriages, love protects people's feelings. Love protects.
Love always trusts and love always hopes. I think that these two go together because I think in order to trust, you have to hope for the best. Love trusts that things will work out for the best and hopes that it does. Love trusts people (not to be confused with being naive). Love hopes that things will work out for the best. Love hopes that hard work will pay off. Love hopes that people will do better next time. Love hopes. And this hope is with a POSITIVE attitude. Love doesn't hope negative things. It doesn't hope positive things but think that the situation will turn out poorly.
Love always perseveres. This one is hard because we get tired. We get impatient. We "grow weary in well-doing." We get knocked down and find it difficult to get back up. But we have to. Love does. Love keeps on loving. Love keeps being patient, kind, hopeful, trusting. Love keeps praying, keeps giving, keeps doing, keeps going. When love gets knocked down, it gets up, dusts itself off, takes a deep breath, and tries again. When love has a friend that shuts down the message, love tries a different tactic. Love doesn't give up.
I hope that I have given you something to think about as far as what Love looks like. I am soo very sorry that it has been so long since I posted the beginning of this series. I do not make any excuses for myself. I *hope* that I am able to hurry and wrap this topic up.
Okay, I guess the easiest place to start is 1 Corinthians 13: The Love Chapter. While this well known passage tells us "what love is" and "what love is not," I think we must forget often. Either that or we don't take the necessary time to let it soak in. So, let's examine this passage more closely to better understand what love looks like.
4 Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not boast, it does not envy, it is not proud.
We have all met people who are always negative about every single thing. Nothing can go right in their lives. People like that drive me crazy. Crazy! I find it difficult, and quite honestly, exhausting, to be around them. I just want to scream at them and run the other way if they ever come to me for anything. But, that would not be patient nor would it be kind. Being patient would mean that I need to bare with them and continue to be there for them time after time. And to be kind, I can't just BE there for them.. I have to be nice about it. I can't let my annoyance show through.
An even better example for our topic would be something more along the lines of this: You have a friend who is having premarital sex. You have talked extensively with her about your beliefs (because remember, we are talking about our Non-Christian counterparts here) about sex and how it belongs in marriage. Yet, time after time she comes to you with stories of her newest guy or her latest heartbreak. Each time you use as an opportunity to share Jesus with her and share how that lifestyle is not what He wants for her life. She always agrees with an, "I know" and a nod, but gets right back out there in the game. You are getting tired of being ignored, but each time you comfort her with a kind word about how she deserves better and how God intended for her to have a better life than this. That is patience. That is kindness.
Notice in our example what you are NOT doing. You are not being boastful. Let's say that you are in a committed relationship, either marriage or dating the same person for a long time. You are not rubbing this in her face. Also, if you waited until you were married to have sex, you are not bragging about it. This will make her feel as though you think you are better than she is. You aren't. Of course you are allowed (and should) use yourself as an example that it can be done IF that comes up, but you are not to bring it up just to make her feel bad or just to make yourself feel good. This is the truth for any circumstance. You are not to make people feel bad because of your accomplishments, successes, possessions, etc. (and by "you" I mean "we").
Love does not envy. I think this is probably self explanatory. We are not to wish for what others have (this is a commandment as well). If we see something that we want, we can set goals for ourselves and earn it, but we are not supposed to hold it against the person who already has it. Nor are we to harm them in any way (physically, emotionally, reputation, etc) in order to get what they have.
Love is not proud. We are to swallow our pride. Period. If we think we are right about something to the point that we aren't listening to the other person, or we are shooting down every idea they come up with then we need an attitude adjustment.
5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not dishonor others. We are not to harm another person's reputation. We aren't to embarrass them. We are not to do anything to make others think poorly of them. Boys and girls, you need to listen carefully to this, because I know that we are in the habit of trying to trash our ex girlfriends and boyfriends. Let me just say, whatever happens to end your relationship is between you and your ex. Not the whole entire world. If you need to talk to someone about what happened to get over it, that is fine. You have friends that you can talk to. But you don't need to go telling every person who asks what happened, and you definitely don't need to seek out people who don't care to tell them. AND you especially do not need to be telling your ex's friends or family what happened. That is his or her business. If your ex wants those close to him or her to know what happened, he or she will tell them. I get so sick of seeing people telling the business of their ex all over Facebook, and I get tired of hearing stories about how ex (usually ex bf's) try to ruin a person's life by telling their business to people who need to stay clued out. That is so wrong on so many levels. It is unforgiving and it is unloving. And that is my rant for the day, I hope.
Love is not self-seeking. In other words, it is not selfish. I'm sure we can all think of selfish attitudes and actions. Eating the last piece of pie when not everyone has had a piece, using all the hot water in the shower, making your husband take care of the kids when he has already been home with them all day while you work (or in my case, go to school), leaving messes for others to clean up, etc. We shouldn't do those selfish things.
Love is not easily angered. It is not wrong to be angry. Jesus got angry, God gets angry. It's okay to be angry. But it takes a lot to get love angry. Love doesn't get angry just because your friend is too busy to talk to you. It doesn't get angry just because your husband forgot to wash the dishes or because your wife forgot to iron your shirt. I kind of think this goes hand-in-hand with being patient, because if you are patient with someone's mistakes you are not going to become angry at the drop of a hat.
Love keeps no records of wrongs. Self-explanatory. We aren't supposed to hold grudges or keep up with how many times someone did us wrong. That old saying, "Fooled me once, shame on you; fooled me twice, shame on me" does not apply here. We are to forgive and forgive and keep forgiving. This includes our friends who lie to us to get out of hanging out with us, our boyfriends that cheat on us (spouses, too), our neighbor who stole $20 when we weren't looking. No matter how large or small the offense, we are not to hold grudges or keep holding it against the person who has wronged us.
6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
So, when love sees someone being picked on, it doesn't laugh along. Love doesn't enjoy movies or music with filth throughout. Love doesn't like compliments that are made up to make someone feel better. Love would rather give the truth to someone gracefully and gently than lie to make a person feel good. Love rejoices with the truth. Basically, if it's of the devil (evil), love does not delight in it, but if it is of Jesus (the truth), love rejoices.
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love always protects. Love protects people being picked on, love protects those doing right, love protects the helpless, love protects marriages, love protects people's feelings. Love protects.
Love always trusts and love always hopes. I think that these two go together because I think in order to trust, you have to hope for the best. Love trusts that things will work out for the best and hopes that it does. Love trusts people (not to be confused with being naive). Love hopes that things will work out for the best. Love hopes that hard work will pay off. Love hopes that people will do better next time. Love hopes. And this hope is with a POSITIVE attitude. Love doesn't hope negative things. It doesn't hope positive things but think that the situation will turn out poorly.
Love always perseveres. This one is hard because we get tired. We get impatient. We "grow weary in well-doing." We get knocked down and find it difficult to get back up. But we have to. Love does. Love keeps on loving. Love keeps being patient, kind, hopeful, trusting. Love keeps praying, keeps giving, keeps doing, keeps going. When love gets knocked down, it gets up, dusts itself off, takes a deep breath, and tries again. When love has a friend that shuts down the message, love tries a different tactic. Love doesn't give up.
I hope that I have given you something to think about as far as what Love looks like. I am soo very sorry that it has been so long since I posted the beginning of this series. I do not make any excuses for myself. I *hope* that I am able to hurry and wrap this topic up.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Christian Love vs. Tolerance Part 2
First of all, I just wanted to point out that these are the things that my parents were intolerant of: disrespect, bad grades, bad behavior, ignorance, etc. It didn't really have anything to do with my previous post but to say what kind of environment I grew up in.
Secondly, I need to clarify that what I am talking about right now pertains to the way that we treat those that are not our Christian brothers and sisters. There is a different set of rules for our relationships with fellow Christians (which is a whole 'nother thing that I'm passionate about).
Now, the three questions that I posed in my last post were: What is the difference between tolerance and love? What does each one look like? and How can I practice love without tolerance? At this time I will attempt to discuss at least the first question.
What is the difference between tolerance and love?
At first when I started thinking about this, I had a really hard time separating the two in my head. I think that sometimes people feel like, "Oh, you don't like one thing I do, so you don't like me!!" I think that is one of the reasons that "tolerance" has been pushed so hard in recent years. People want everyone to be okay with whatever they do. As I thought about the whole issue more and more, though, I started to understand the difference, but I don't think that I fully answered this question to myself until I had answered the other two questions as well. So, please bare with me as we try to work this out together.
Tolerance is defined here as a "fair, objective, permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc. differ from one's own."
That seems like the Christian thing to do, right? It's fair. BUT it is permissive. That is bad. We should not be complacent with sin going on around us. This is the problem with tolerance. Jesus was not tolerant. He was not rude or hateful to anyone, but He also did not tolerate sin (think about Jesus when He drove the sellers out of the temple in Mark 11:15-22 or when He rebuked Simon in Luke 7:36-50). Of course there are many other examples, which some may find to be much better. But the point is that when someone was doing something wrong, He let them know.
Love is defined as "a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person." Lest we get confused, affection is defined as "fond attachment, devotion, or love." (Definitions are important because we may think a word means one thing because of our connotations associated with it, but it might mean something a little different. It's good to be precise.)
So, love is a bit more personal than tolerance. I'm pretty sure we can all agree with that one. (The definition even sounds better, using words like "tender" and "passionate" as opposed to "objective" and "permissive.") Note the tender way that Jesus spoke of and to the woman when He was at Simon's house (see above). As a matter of fact, He was not harsh with Simon, either.
Tolerance is driven from an attitude of "if I leave you alone and mind my business, you will leave me alone and mind your own." But, really that isn't the attitude that we should have. We should have an attitude of love. "If I love you until it hurts, if I reach out to you in every way that I know how, you will want to know why, and I can introduce you to Jesus." In Matthew 28:16-20 we are commanded to go forth and make disciples. We won't do that with an attitude of tolerance. The connotation associated with tolerance is this for me: "I dislike what you are doing and therefore dislike you. I do not want to be involved with you at all." I guess you could call it "high and mighty" or "Holier than thou".. you know.. those attitudes that "lost" people (rightfully) accuse Christians of all the time. How are we supposed to "make disciples" if we have that attitude? Don't kid yourself. People see right through it. If we have that attitude, we are doing more harm than good to the cause of Christ. I am not even kidding. We are turning people off to what we say and represent. Therefore, we are turning people off to Jesus, and we will be held responsible for our actions. Never forget that. Now, I used "we" in this rant, but to make it more personal, feel free to substitute "I." This is a very important point that each of us NEEDS to apply to our own individual life.
To me, "loving someone to Christ" has a connotation more like this: "You are hurting, I am there for you. You need a friend, I invite you to my house or accept your invitation to come to yours. You need the notes from the class you missed Wednesday, not only do I have them for you, but I have a copy made out for you because I noticed that you missed. You are having financial problems, and I know it? Let me make you a meal or buy you some groceries. You're being bullied at school or work? I take up for you. Your house is messy and stressing you out? I'll come help you clean it up. You and hubby haven't had a date night in a while? I'll watch your kids for you. You just had a baby and don't have anything for him/her? Take some of my extras. Etc, etc, etc."
Okay, so hopefully this will get you thinking about the difference between LOVE and TOLERANCE. Maybe to fully grasp the concept, we will need to answer the last two questions. I plan to continue with this series until we get it hammered out for anyone who is interested, and maybe you can help me understand it even better, too. Please leave any questions or comments below to help me continue developing this topic.
Secondly, I need to clarify that what I am talking about right now pertains to the way that we treat those that are not our Christian brothers and sisters. There is a different set of rules for our relationships with fellow Christians (which is a whole 'nother thing that I'm passionate about).
Now, the three questions that I posed in my last post were: What is the difference between tolerance and love? What does each one look like? and How can I practice love without tolerance? At this time I will attempt to discuss at least the first question.
What is the difference between tolerance and love?
At first when I started thinking about this, I had a really hard time separating the two in my head. I think that sometimes people feel like, "Oh, you don't like one thing I do, so you don't like me!!" I think that is one of the reasons that "tolerance" has been pushed so hard in recent years. People want everyone to be okay with whatever they do. As I thought about the whole issue more and more, though, I started to understand the difference, but I don't think that I fully answered this question to myself until I had answered the other two questions as well. So, please bare with me as we try to work this out together.
Tolerance is defined here as a "fair, objective, permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc. differ from one's own."
That seems like the Christian thing to do, right? It's fair. BUT it is permissive. That is bad. We should not be complacent with sin going on around us. This is the problem with tolerance. Jesus was not tolerant. He was not rude or hateful to anyone, but He also did not tolerate sin (think about Jesus when He drove the sellers out of the temple in Mark 11:15-22 or when He rebuked Simon in Luke 7:36-50). Of course there are many other examples, which some may find to be much better. But the point is that when someone was doing something wrong, He let them know.
Love is defined as "a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person." Lest we get confused, affection is defined as "fond attachment, devotion, or love." (Definitions are important because we may think a word means one thing because of our connotations associated with it, but it might mean something a little different. It's good to be precise.)
So, love is a bit more personal than tolerance. I'm pretty sure we can all agree with that one. (The definition even sounds better, using words like "tender" and "passionate" as opposed to "objective" and "permissive.") Note the tender way that Jesus spoke of and to the woman when He was at Simon's house (see above). As a matter of fact, He was not harsh with Simon, either.
Tolerance is driven from an attitude of "if I leave you alone and mind my business, you will leave me alone and mind your own." But, really that isn't the attitude that we should have. We should have an attitude of love. "If I love you until it hurts, if I reach out to you in every way that I know how, you will want to know why, and I can introduce you to Jesus." In Matthew 28:16-20 we are commanded to go forth and make disciples. We won't do that with an attitude of tolerance. The connotation associated with tolerance is this for me: "I dislike what you are doing and therefore dislike you. I do not want to be involved with you at all." I guess you could call it "high and mighty" or "Holier than thou".. you know.. those attitudes that "lost" people (rightfully) accuse Christians of all the time. How are we supposed to "make disciples" if we have that attitude? Don't kid yourself. People see right through it. If we have that attitude, we are doing more harm than good to the cause of Christ. I am not even kidding. We are turning people off to what we say and represent. Therefore, we are turning people off to Jesus, and we will be held responsible for our actions. Never forget that. Now, I used "we" in this rant, but to make it more personal, feel free to substitute "I." This is a very important point that each of us NEEDS to apply to our own individual life.
To me, "loving someone to Christ" has a connotation more like this: "You are hurting, I am there for you. You need a friend, I invite you to my house or accept your invitation to come to yours. You need the notes from the class you missed Wednesday, not only do I have them for you, but I have a copy made out for you because I noticed that you missed. You are having financial problems, and I know it? Let me make you a meal or buy you some groceries. You're being bullied at school or work? I take up for you. Your house is messy and stressing you out? I'll come help you clean it up. You and hubby haven't had a date night in a while? I'll watch your kids for you. You just had a baby and don't have anything for him/her? Take some of my extras. Etc, etc, etc."
Okay, so hopefully this will get you thinking about the difference between LOVE and TOLERANCE. Maybe to fully grasp the concept, we will need to answer the last two questions. I plan to continue with this series until we get it hammered out for anyone who is interested, and maybe you can help me understand it even better, too. Please leave any questions or comments below to help me continue developing this topic.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Christian Love vs. Tolerance
I have been trying to write this post for some time now. It has been on my heart and mind for at least two weeks straight, but off and on even before that. So, here I am about to try it again.
I was raised in a Christian home and a fairly Christian community, neither of which were very tolerant. The townspeople, in general, weren't tolerant of anyone that wasn't like them: white, straight, conservative, Christian. You get the picture. The demographics of that town pretty much only differs by age and gender. Everything else is the same for the most part.
So, imagine the culture shock I received when I went away to a Liberal Arts college where everything that my world was planted on was questioned. I had to reevaluate everything I believed. Everything. From my Christian faith and the way I lived it out to my political views. Everything.
Note that I said, "And the way I lived it out." Out of everything that I re-examined in my life, that is the part that was influenced the most by the people that I was around. Why? Because I had never had to deal with anyone that was different than me. I thought, maybe tolerance IS the best way to handle lifestyles that I disagree with. By lifestyles I mean the party scene, homosexuality, other religions (not to be confused with other denominations... that's another post for another day, though!!) Now I realize that tolerance is NOT the key. Love is. In fact, the Bible speaks out against tolerance.
2 Timothy 4:1-2
I was raised in a Christian home and a fairly Christian community, neither of which were very tolerant. The townspeople, in general, weren't tolerant of anyone that wasn't like them: white, straight, conservative, Christian. You get the picture. The demographics of that town pretty much only differs by age and gender. Everything else is the same for the most part.
So, imagine the culture shock I received when I went away to a Liberal Arts college where everything that my world was planted on was questioned. I had to reevaluate everything I believed. Everything. From my Christian faith and the way I lived it out to my political views. Everything.
Note that I said, "And the way I lived it out." Out of everything that I re-examined in my life, that is the part that was influenced the most by the people that I was around. Why? Because I had never had to deal with anyone that was different than me. I thought, maybe tolerance IS the best way to handle lifestyles that I disagree with. By lifestyles I mean the party scene, homosexuality, other religions (not to be confused with other denominations... that's another post for another day, though!!) Now I realize that tolerance is NOT the key. Love is. In fact, the Bible speaks out against tolerance.
2 Timothy 4:1-2
"I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to
judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:
preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke,
and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."
Revelation 2:20-23
"But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works."
Now, this is where it gets tricky, because the Bible does call us to LOVE.
Ephesians 4:2
"With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love"
1 Peter 3:15
"But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect"
And also, not to judge one another.
John 8:7
"And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.'”
Acts 10:28
"And he said to them, 'You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.'"
So, the thing that I have been struggling with since I became convicted that tolerance is the wrong approach is this: What is the difference between tolerance and love? What does each one look like? How can I practice LOVE without TOLERANCE?
Please leave your thoughts in the comments. I plan to elaborate more on this very soon!!
Revelation 2:20-23
"But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works."
Now, this is where it gets tricky, because the Bible does call us to LOVE.
Ephesians 4:2
"With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love"
1 Peter 3:15
"But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect"
And also, not to judge one another.
John 8:7
"And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.'”
Acts 10:28
"And he said to them, 'You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.'"
So, the thing that I have been struggling with since I became convicted that tolerance is the wrong approach is this: What is the difference between tolerance and love? What does each one look like? How can I practice LOVE without TOLERANCE?
Please leave your thoughts in the comments. I plan to elaborate more on this very soon!!
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