Kent- On being "drummed out of the corps," it is appropriate in cases such as Swaggart and the guy who proved himself false in "Integrity Motors." As Jesus said, we will know them by their fruits.
Sometimes it is not appropriate, and we act like I've seen some of my children respond. After learning about the verses that say we should not honour ourselves, but let others praise us (if it is appropriate), my son, a few years ago, thought his younger sister was violating that when she would do something like show us a picture she had drawn or something she had written. Of course, she was looking for appreciation and there is nothing wrong with that. She was also happy that she had done something that had required a lot of effort, because it was new to her.
What is the answer as to how we should respond? With as much charity as we can muster, believing that those who cross our paths have good, innocent intentions, until they prove beyond a doubt otherwise.
Jesus dealt with this phase too, saying, "Be wise as serpents but harmless as doves." It is also written in the Bible that, though Jesus loves us in the extreme, he set an example of that wise as serpent/harmless of dove advice, for example as referred to in John 2:24, where it says, "But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man." Yes, he knew what was in man; that's why he came to save us from it.
John |
