LOVE BUT SHAMED INTO SILENCE

Have you ever been called a “hater” or a “bigot” simply for expressing your Christian beliefs. I have, many times. These charges usually revolve around the concept of “love.” What is love?

The Bible provides us with many portraits of love, but each portrait of Biblical love represents the ultimate concern for the welfare of others. Consequently, love sometimes takes the form of tough love:

• And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:5-11 ESV)

Love requires training and correction, and this is often painful. It’s like a parent spanking the baby for running out into the street. God “spanks” those He loves, and we have to understand that this too is love. If God leaves us without these painful corrections, it means that He no longer regards us as His children.

Likewise, there are those people who we can no longer correct. Instead, they insist that we affirm them along with all of their lifestyle choices. They might even insist that if we refuse to affirm their lifestyle, it means that we don’t love them.

They have redefined “love” to only include those words that feel good, while critical words have been defined as “hate speech.” Paul seems to have written about this development:

• For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

This refers to people in the Church who turn from the truth to fables. Which fables? For one thing - love shouldn’t include any words of correction or disapproval. However, it is clearly loving to warn others against joining ISIS or any suicide cult.

There are many other fables that have been embraced. So many have told us, “You mustn’t judge or claim that you have the truth. You are being arrogant.” However, such a statement is hypocritical, since they are judging us!

Besides these examples, even the most educated believe that the universe sprang into existence naturally and without a cause out of nothing in contradiction to the fundamental assumptions of science. These materialists often deny we have freewill. Besides, they claim that consciousness simply arises when matter becomes sufficiently complex.

There are also many other fables that have been embraced by the educated. It is therefore not surprising that “love” has also fallen prey to fable-making.