I think some people are door mats. They don’t hold their ground They are weak and quick to cave to pressure. They feel guilty as if they are the one in the wrong. They try to win by giving favors. They aren’t good at standing firm. They confuse symbolism with substance. Winning souls can’t be done with symbolism. Watch these misguided souls in parenting, if they are parents. They keep gifting to their undeserving child. They aren’t good at bringing their child to sorrow. Giving candy and favors makes them feel good and they don’t recognize that a hardness is settling into their children. Tough love sounds foreign and even unchristian to them. These people are prone to forgive people in hopes of winning them later. Well, it’s not like God. Children and sinners must be brought to humility and godly sorrow.

With these there is a love and giving spirit in them and that’s good. I believe they mean well. But it’s without discernment. If they could demonstrate that there are indeed times that they hold back their pearls, I would think different of their judgment. If they at least sometimes demonstrated what Jesus said to “retain sins” (they probably can’t even grasp what that means, Jn 20:23), then I could feel better about their approach. But as it is, their unconditional forgiveness is one sided, and hardly resembles what God actually teaches and shows about actual forgiveness. I say this in love.

Categories: Church of Christ, consequences, costs of discipleship, culture, discipline, forgiveness, godly sorrow, Judgment, rebuke, repentance, reprove, sin, Uncategorized