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Originally Posted by houseparent  Am I wrong to expect the Christians in my life to act better than the pagans in my life? I am saddened when my nonbelieving friends and co-workers make better (more moral) choices and treat their co-workers with more respect than those who claim Christ.  |
I think it depends on what you mean by 'expect'. I think we are obligated to hold Christians to a certain behavior. (with charity and humility and scripture, of course) But I don't think there is anything wrong with using your senses to discern good and evil in a person. (Heb 5) A person who makes bad decisions is a person who makes bad decisions. A person who acts like a 'jerk' is a 'jerk'.
We are commanded to love them still but we don't have to set ourselves up for disappointment. Does any of that make sense?
If our brothers and sisters in the Lord were easy to get along with why would Paul need to say in Eph 4:3, "
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
I just realized I sound a little preachy.
I don't mean to be. These are simply things that I have to continually remind myself about because I suffer from the same frustrations as you. (I work in the CA public school system for cryin' out loud!)
