The only way out of our collective mess is personal accountability. Just that's not particularly popular, especially to those with a religious or ideological mindset (same thing).
"I did all the correct and approved rites and rituals and recited the doctrines and dogmas perfectly... so why am I being judged so harshly as having been unrighteous in my compliance and complicity?"
Exactly.
I believe in and will fight for freedom! Truth seeker and staunch President Trump supporter! #WWG1WGA 🇺🇸🦅
I agree 100%.
A person can read the Bible backwards and forwards, memorize every verse, say every prayer they know, go and park their arse in the pew of their church every Sunday and will still face harsher judgement than a person who actually loved thy neighbour and did no harm to others.
Why? Because loving thy neighbour and doing no harm are the most important of God’s laws - living by these laws, a person cannot possibly break any of the others.
Also of paramount importance is - as you say - being able to take accountability for our actions and deeds. This means acknowledging when we did wrong and when possible, making amends and making things right. Most of all, we must LEARN from our mistakes and try never to repeat them.
The absolute worst thing any of us can do is JUDGE others FOR ANYTHING.
I acknowledge that I am guilty of all of the above to a greater or lesser extent. I try now to do better.
Loving and seeking God and his perfect and Holy will, to the exclusion of everything and everyone else, is the first and most important commandment.
It is not possible to truly love your neighbor, especially an evil one, unless it is done for God's sake.
To properly love your neighbor, it is NECESSARY to make appropriate judgements based on behavior.
Are you loving the narcissist, adulterer, alcoholic, pedophile, thief, abuser, cheater, liar, rapist, transsexual, indoctrinated communist, murderer of the born and unborn by choosing not to judge and failing to point out the grave damage they do to themselves and everyone around them?
Without proper judgement, you can neither guide a neighbor off the wrong path, or support them on the right one.
Failure to judge is apathy toward your neighbor. Failure to desire the good of your neighbor is apathy toward God. Failure to desire God makes all failures complete.
Seeing others trespasses and HELPING them to see their errors is our calling.
To prevent them from continuing to do wrong is the extent to which we are authorized to act. This is justice, not judgement.
It is for God to condemn, and He will.
I am sorry, but I hear anger (justified) and hate (never justified) in your argument. We do not exist to judge that which we did not create.
From the group you condemn, I exclude “transexuals” - they are grossly misled people who need our help not our judgement. With this group I keep repeating Jesus words that he cried out as he died on the cross, JUDGED by people who believed themselves to be His betters: “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.”
Please be careful in passing out judgement on your neighbour, because there will always be some among those you condemn who could have been saved had you condescended to withhold your judgement.
Your first three paragraphs are exactly the point I was trying to make. I don't even know why you are arguing with me if that is what you believe.
I have no idea how you get anger and hate from statements that are solely based on helping someone get to heaven. That's bewildering to me.
Condemnation and right judgement are not synonyms. You yourself are using right judgement to recognize transsexuals are grossly misled. Only if one is able and willing to make that correct judgement will they want to help that person off the road to perdition.
I believe in and will fight for freedom! Truth seeker and staunch President Trump supporter! #WWG1WGA 🇺🇸🦅
Forgive me - I didn’t and don’t want you to feel I am arguing with you.
I think we just disagree on the concept of judgment, and whether or not it is our role in Earthly existence to judge others.
Maybe I read your original comment wrong, but I believe your question was whether or not “I” love those who do grevious wrong. To be clear, I don’t. There is no coming back from some wrongs/crimes - and in such cases we must act to prevent the lost from continuing to do wrong. I don’t see this as judgement, I see it as justice.
My only point is that “judgement” implies a need to be superior. We can see the wrong others do, try to get them to see their wrongs, and we have an obligation to prevent egregious wrongs from being done again by those committing wrongs but it is God’s purview to mete out judgement.
We shall agree to disagree.
God bless you Brother.
American Founding Family Descendant. Freedom warrior. AU test kitchen explorer. Discerning Dame.
Apologies in advance from a language nerd - I am working on controlling my little vexations. In the meantime.....it's judgment.
I believe in and will fight for freedom! Truth seeker and staunch President Trump supporter! #WWG1WGA 🇺🇸🦅
I am guilty of vexation and judgement all the time. This is what it is to he human.
I can hope to do is to practice what I preach.
No need to apologize - we are all works in progress.
God bless you. I love you.
