MissBlogger,
The difference between posting on a blog and posting on a forum is that a blog is mostly static and a forum is truly interactive. People can comment on a blog, if you have comments enabled, but you don't really have to respond. On a forum, on the other hand, all posts/threads are intended to be discussion starters. If you post or comment, you need to be prepared for the discussion that follows. It's the nature of the beast.
On the bright side, it's the very best way to get to the heart of a matter and sort something out. Having multiple people weigh in with opinions and questions can help you refine your own ideas and opinions and walk away with a clear plan of action or, at the very least, the issue settled in your mind.
Per your experience: There are nice people who are sinners and there are so-called Christians who aren't very nice. Neither of those groups of people should be allowed to affect your relationship with God or your relationship with the truly Christlike people in your life. There are people who would take an experience like that and claim that the church is full of hypocrites and avoid it completely. However, that's damaging in the longterm, and IMO, it's in opposition to what God wants for your life and for His church.
I came across a meme the other day that expressed this idea and I posted it on my facebook page:
Attachment 4396
One of my friends quickly commented, and prompted me to rethink the whole premise behind the meme. Ultimately I came to the conclusion that the principle still holds true.
Yes, it's true that I wouldn't personally hire a trainer who was out of shape--I want someone to train me who has already done the work to get themselves in shape and really knows what they're doing and what they're talking about. On the FLIP side, what the meme is actually referencing holds true. There are people at my gym who are in shape and those who are struggling. There are people who lift weights all the time and they have big muscles, but put them on the elliptical for endurance or cardio and they would collapse. Then there are cross trainers who are very fit overall, but they wouldn't make it in a weight-lifting competition. There are the people who come about once a month and then you don't see them again for awhile.
The POINT is, I don't go around trying to *fix* the problems in each person at the gym. I don't even worry about their problems. I'm there 3-5 times a week to fix ME. I don't avoid the gym because there are people there who either are there for the wrong reasons or who aren't really doing what they should be doing. The same goes for church. I don't skip church because there are people who are there who aren't doing what they should be doing. I don't skip church because some people are neglecting certain areas of their lives. I don't skip church because some people only come once a month, or even once a year. Attending church (read: assembling with other believers) is biblical, and therefore intertwined with my relationship with God, so to some extent I have to learn to do two things:
1. Keep that practice out of honor for God and somewhat independently of all the other people, and
2. Learn to respect other people who aren't there yet. I haven't arrived at perfection, so it's wrong for me to be terribly critical of all the other people who haven't arrived either. Let them work out their own salvation and don't worry if they're doing it wrong. Be at church for you and God.
Oh, here's a #3: Be humble about your own imperfections. You can be kind to others and respectful more easily if you carry around the humility that says, "I'm not perfect, so I don't expect any of you to be perfect, either."
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