Help! My Best Friend is a Liberal!!

Is your best friend a laid back liberal? A mushy moderate? A mean-spirited Conservative? A pharisaical UC?

What do you do when your best friend isn't of your persuasion or changes course? Can there truly be fellowship when the lines have been redefined? If so, how so? Is there a limit? Can you ever hope to accomplish anything together for the Kingdom if you are not equally yoked and/or no longer "say the same thing?"

[mizpeh]

Originally Posted by Theophilus

Is your best friend a laid back liberal? A mushy moderate? A mean-spirited Conservative? A pharisaical UC?

What do you do when your best friend isn't of your persuasion or changes course? Can there truly be fellowship when the lines have been redefined? If so, how so? Is there a limit? Can you ever hope to accomplish anything together for the Kingdom if you are not equally yoked and/or no longer "say the same thing?"

It depends on where you draw the lines of fellowship. My line is drawn by my understanding of when one becomes a born again son/daughter of God and who God is. Once in the body of Christ there has to be forbearance, love, peacableness, etc for one another within the body.

Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Originally Posted by mizpeh

It depends on where you draw the lines of fellowship. My line is drawn by my understanding of when one becomes a born again son/daughter of God and who God is. Once in the body of Christ there has to be forbearance, love, peacableness, etc for one another within the body.

Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Good post. What does that verse mean? When do we all come into the unity of the faith, etc?

And how does that verse coincide with the following?

1Co 1:10 ~ Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

I would be changing friends by default because if my best friend became conservative, his life would start revolving around church and we wouldn't be able to spend any time together unless it was at a church function.

[Barb]

Originally Posted by mizpeh

It depends on where you draw the lines of fellowship. My line is drawn by my understanding of when one becomes a born again son/daughter of God and who God is. Once in the body of Christ there has to be forbearance, love, peacableness, etc for one another within the body.

Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Interesting...the bolded portion of that verse formed the UPCI, and it worked...for a while.

Originally Posted by Sheltiedad

I would be changing friends by default because if my best friend became conservative, his life would start revolving around church and we wouldn't be able to spend any time together unless it was at a church function.

Really? Would that be a bad thing?

I know many conservatives that enjoy life outside of a "church" function.

If he was your best friend, your best friend, you would dump him for being too involved in "church" for you tastes?

Originally Posted by Barb

Interesting...the bolded portion of that verse formed the UPCI, and it worked...for a while.

Quite right. What is your opinion Barb, in general and about the meaning of this verse?

I wouldn't dump him but I'm sure we would slowly grow apart since I am not interested in going to church functions on a regular basis.

Maybe things have changed the last few years but I know that all of my relatives who are conservative are completely wrapped up in church functions... even their non-church activities are with their church friends. I have found that when people get really involved in church, they just don't have much time left over for anything else.

Originally Posted by Sheltiedad

I wouldn't dump him but I'm sure we would slowly grow apart since I am not interested in going to church functions on a regular basis.

Maybe things have changed the last few years but I know that all of my relatives who are conservative are completely wrapped up in church functions... even their non-church activities are with their church friends.

Do you think that is unhealthy? I think they probably use some scripture to support that, and I would support their decision to an extent. However, do you feel that it makes them too seclusive, and therefore not able to reach out as the Lord would? Is it possible, on the other hand, that one can spend too much time with the world? That being with church goers and at church functions is a little bit of an uneasy situation, or just no "fun" at all?

I think I am too biased to have a good opinion on whether it is too seclusive or not.

Church makes other people happy... it makes me depressed, miserable and annoyed (and I realize I am the only person in the entire world who doesn't like church (with the possible exception of Michlow. lol). So I would have to go with the no fun option... the only uneasiness for me is having to walk on my tiptoes to keep from offending anyone.