Big Whoop.

Today while I was watching A Walk To Remember, eating ice cream, and bawling my eyes out (I refuse to admit that I’m an emotional wreck, Nicholas Sparks just knows how to pull on the heartstrings of every woman in the world), I listened to Landon read 1 Corinthians 13:4 (but I will go through the beginning of verse 8). If any Bible verse were able to be exhausted, this would come in second place-behind John 3:16. It is recited in weddings, put on walls, Bibles, journals, t-shirts, and any other marketing tool Christian organizations have created. So, I’m going to talk about it today, hopefully in a new way (if not, don’t throw rotten tomatoes at me, please).

Love is patient….even when we have been waiting on someone to do something for years.

Love is kind……even when we think someone doesn’t deserve it.

Love does not envy…even when we REALLY want to be someone else.

It is not boastful…...even when we think we deserve to be able to.

It is not conceited...even when we want the attention to be on us.

It does not act improperly….even though we may just want to punch someone in the face.

It is not selfish…..even when we REALLY just want some “me” time.

It is not provoked….even when we’ve had the last straw.

It does not keep record of wrongs…even after the thousandth time.

It finds no joy in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth…even when politics is really enticing.

It bears, hopes, and endures all things….no matter how tough that relationship may be.

Love never ends…..ever.

Many times, I feel as though I put exception clauses into Bible verses. “Be patient,” the Bible says. I say, “but they are getting on my LAST nerve.” “Be kind,” the Bible says.  “They don’t deserve my kindness,” I say.

That last one gets on my nerves. I do it all the time. You know what I don’t deserve? Christ’s sacrifice. But I got it.

The second greatest commandment, Jesus said, is to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36). Most the time, I beat around the bush, trying not to offend. Well, I’m not going to do that today. Something that has really begun to irk me in the Christian community is that we don’t love. I tweeted something the other day that I regretted doing right after I sent it. Then, I realized it was because I didn’t want to offend anyone. I got over it and said “those that are offended need to just deal and read their Bible.”

“Can we quit labeling people by their sins and start seeing them as people in desperate need of the gospel?”

I’m tired of people being labeled by their sins.

“She struggles with drinking.”

“He’s gay.”

“He is a compulsive gambler.”

“She shoplifted that one time.”

Big whoop. I don’t care. Do they have Christ? (We are assuming that these people mentioned do not have Christ. They also are no reflection of any actual person). That’s all that matters. ‘Cause guess what….the only difference between them and I is that I have Jesus and they don’t. The only difference is that I am not enslaved by the things of this world and have the eternal JOY that comes with Christ. If they don’t have Christ, then I don’t care if they are homosexual, alcohol/drug addicts, compulsive liars, gamblers, or stealers. The only thing I’m concerned about is LOVING them like Jesus does and showing them Christ.

Don’t try to change them! PLEASE! I’m going to use this saying that I’ve found recently. I might make some people mad. Don’t get mad at me, read the Bible. You’ll see that Christians are told to live differently than the pagans. The saying that I heard goes something like this: “telling me I can’t marry the same sex is like telling me I can’t eat a cupcake because you’re on a diet.”

Now, just wait a second before you get out your pitchforks and torches and form the village mob to come burn me at the stake. Though I do not support gay marriage (other people, don’t form a mob either), I don’t think trying to tell someone that them being gay is wrong is a useful tactic when it comes to evangelism (I'm just using being gay as an example). We cannot expect anyone who is not saved to live life like a Christian. I'd also say this: "telling a lost person to act like a Christian is like telling me I can't eat a cupcake because you're on a diet." 

There was a lecture series this past semester at Carson-Newman. It was entitled “The Difference Christ Makes.” Though I can’t tell you a single thing that was said that week, I do really like this phrase. The difference Christ makes is that you don’t live in the ways of the world. You are not a slave to sin. Expect people to sin. Don’t judge them for it. See the lost and sinners as people in desperate need of Christ. See the lost as people loved immensely by the Creator of the universe. It will change your perspective in life.

I find it hard to believe that people just want “tolerance.” Let’s love them. Let’s overwhelm them with the love of Christ. Let’s stop seeing people differently just because they are prone to a certain sin (just a reminder-sin is sin, no matter what it is. No sin is worse than another) and start loving them with the unconditional love of Christ mentioned in 1 Corinthians. Love your neighbor…and neighbor is everyone you come in contact with.

                I don’t really care what kind of sin they struggle with; I care if they have Christ. 

Note: there may or may not be a second part to this post (to clarify some loose ends)