"Love and Tolerate"

     All our lives, we are told to love, and tolerate each other. Which is true. We should always be patient with each other. But, something that I've noticed is that people tend to go a little too far with this, and instead of using opportunities to teach, we just learn to accept people for their faults, and not even try to help them in their struggles. It's like, say the path to Heaven is on a mountain, and you're climbing to the top with your friend, and your friend starts slipping, but you look at them, and decide that, "oh, it's okay, if they slip then that's just who they are, and I should accept the fact that they're falling", so you keep going without them. that's what you're doing when you decide to "accept their faults and the fact that no one is perfect." No one is perfect, but when they slip, we have to be here to help them back up. That is what real friends do.

     I have seen this a lot, especially with homosexuality. "Love is love, and God accepts it all" is what I've heard a lot. But, in Romans 1:26-27, it says, "For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error." This is saying that it is wrong, and shameful. Let's say I love to rob banks. Love is love right? And God is love. I love what I do, but that doesn't mean it's not a sin. And when you see someone stumbling with this, help them, and show them where they're wrong. Not in a condescending way, but in a loving, helpful way. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness," And if we don't use the scriptures for that, then what are we using them for? If you study your Bible daily, but you don't use that knowledge and share it with others, when what's the point in having it?

     I once heard a story of a teapot, and a teacup. You see, the teapot was always pouring it's tea into the teacups, and always being refilled with fresh, tasty tea. But the teacups, however, only held the tea in them, and the tea got stale, and wasn't any good. Are you a teapot, or a teacup? Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful day. :)
~Jayla