Pastor Tom's Community

I think about the loss of civility in the public square with sorrow, frustration and the temptation to be uncivil about it ALL.

It seems to be directly related to the the relaxation of some very old values of respect, courtesy, and for a believer, recognition of the image of God in another.

If we cannot learn to practice this in our communities of faith as followers of Jesus, how can we translate it into the larger contexts of a world in conflict of ideals?

This brother's blog speaks to the issue within the context of Christianity where we tend to think being "right" is a license for being justified in all pronouncements.

I quote him here:

"When we speak evil of our brother, we are sinning in two ways. First, we are doing harm to one we are supposed to love. Why speak evil 'of' our brother, rather than speaking the truth 'to' our brother? Second, we are rejecting the Law of Christ, which calls us to treat our brother as we would like to be treated ourselves. In effect we are saying the law of love is just not that important." – Alan Rouse

Being nasty is not prophetic.