Boundaries of Love - Being a fool is not a requirement of love.
There is a difference in caring for everyone, going out into the highways and byways to tell the good news of salvation to one and all, and in taking everyone into your company. There are boundaries of love. God not only knew this but insisted upon these boundaries. Although Jesus sent disciples to spread the gospel, God told His people to separate themselves from those involved in sinful behaviors because of the influence of ungodly living. He made clear that light and dark have no fellowship (partnership). It is one thing to love every person of every persuasion, to be willing to assist anyone in need and another thing to embrace them as though their lifestyles are acceptable and do not bother you.
Parents who love their children know this only too well. While they may not want their children to be rude or unkind to anyone, neither do they want their children to hang out with those who are defiant to their teachers and who are troublemakers, involved in drugs, or illegal activities. It's easy to understand. A parent loves his child and knows that if he spends too much time with the wrong sort, he may be influenced to try things that are not good for him or to be used and abused. Love makes a parent want to protect his child from harmful influences. So he sets boundaries of love.
You may say you're not afraid of snakes. Good for you. But if you are wise, you will know which ones are poisonous and how to avoid their bite. You will not lie down to sleep with a venomous snake.
But there is a push today to not even acknowledge that there is any behavior that we can see as 'bad.' It is called 'unloving,' or 'judgmental' to recognize anything as evil. Except that the one thing we can call evil is recognizing evil to be evil. If you recognize it and stand against it, then that is what we are told is evil. This 'love all,' 'accept all' philosophy is convenient to those who want to push an agenda. It is also convenient for those who would proselytize and subjugate the minds of others. And it is convenient for those who want to get by with their evil works without suffering consequences.
Even for a Christian to make a stand to agree with God, he is considered judgmental and condemning. Scriptures are thrown out there that tell us not to judge, by those who do not understand that this has nothing to do with agreeing with God's judgment.
God has already judged what is right and what is wrong and He has laid it out for all who will receive the truth. The world is already condemned because of its sin.
We are not to play God and impose our own judgments that are outside of what God has brought forth. We are to show others how they can, through Jesus Christ, come out from under the condemnation they are already living with.
But Satan has played a cunning mind-game to immobilize the true children of God, to desensitize them to his poison and to bring them into bondage.
A parent knows instinctively that love causes him to want to protect his child from dangerous influences and a wise parent teaches his child how to avoid those influence. But how soon is that simple, natural instinct, born out of love, shamed and cut off from adult understanding in so many areas of life?!
Protection of our country from enemies who want to come in and defile it, abuse it, and change it into a place where the government it has is replaced with one that pleases the selfish and those who wish to rule others, is now called unloving! How can such idiotic thinking be understood? People are even trying to find scriptures to justify this mindset.
Paul, in 1 Corinthians chapter five, shamed the church for keeping an individual in their congregation who claimed to be a 'brother' but was practicing a despicable sin. He told them that a little leaven (yeast) would leaven the whole lump. In other words, the person practicing this ungodliness would affect the whole church. He made it clear they were to turn him out of the church. This may be shocking to those who think and spread the idea, that love in Christianity could never do such a thing but must be ooshy gooshy sweetness at all times. No! This was a boundary of love. The one practicing his sin could continue it elsewhere without the pretense that he was okay. The rest of the church could pray for him, love him and even be kind to him, but not pretend his actions were acceptable nor allow it to influence their children. Sometimes love must be tough.
Now we are supposed to believe that if we are Christians, our love will keep us from protecting our country from those who might come here intent on resisting our laws and even trafficking our children. It is said that if we want such protection, we are scared and acting out of fear. Fear, lack of love, unfeeling, selfishness, etc. are convenient labels to be put on those who wish to live in wisdom.
Be that as it may, the very idea of vetting well each immigrant and not letting anyone come into our country who does not do so legally and well vetted is cried out against. It is as though the person who wants to enter our country is more important than individual families, including our children who live here, and as though our wanting to maintain safety and peace for our children is somehow wrong, or worse is only senseless fear. It is amazing when good sense and wisdom are redefined as foolish fear.
The Bible says to love your enemies. It does not say to pretend they are not your enemies. They are, in fact, recognized as enemies. How do you know you are loving your enemy, if you do not know who your enemy is? Love him, but do not be a fool. An enemy is someone who works against you and/or to destroy you. Pray for him. Do not return evil for evil. But neither allow him to destroy you. Seek God that your enemy become your friend. But until he does, you do not let your enemy destroy you! God has given us weapons of spiritual warfare for a reason. Being a fool is not a requirement of love. And drawing of a line in the sand that is based on wisdom and understanding does not mean you are afraid. As a matter of fact, you may well be unafraid, because you know that you have placed boundaries of safety and love firmly in place. A fool, however, has many reasons to be afraid.
