Marsha's Musing: Love vs. Tolerance

1Co 16:13 ¶ Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.
 14 Let all that you do be done with love.

I find these two verses interesting.  Verse 13 sounds like you are going out to war but verse 14 says do it all with love.  Seems like an oxymoron.

We as Christians are in a war.  We are in a spiritual war. Ephesians 6:11-13 says,

 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Love to many is some mushy, compromising feeling whereby you look the other way and pretend you don't see the sin around you.  It's called tolerance these days.  No, I see these two verses together for a reason because Paul is driving home a point that sometimes love has to be tough.

Look at Jesus in the Gospels, driving the money changers out of the temple.  In today's world, He would have been expected to walk in and either turn His head the other way and ignore what was going on or if He felt compelled to do something, maybe walk over and say something like, " I realize you were born a money changer and you just can't help it, it must be so hard for you..."  This is the wimpy, mushy type of love (tolerance) that people are preaching today. 

No, Jesus walked in there with a whip and drove them out, knocking over their tables as He went.  This was tough love in action.  Of course in our modern  times where there are laws we have to abide by, we wouldn't dare do such a thing unless we want to sit in jail for it.  But we can speak out, and we can work to make laws to curb the sin we see around us, we can speak and write the truth of Scripture,  not with malice and not with vindictiveness, but in love, to shine a light on error and show the way to the truth of God's Word.

But we must stand fast in the faith, be brave and be strong because there are those who will misunderstand our motives and our love.  They will attack us as being unloving and intolerant for pointing out where they have sinned against God.  Yet, we have to remember, if you see a burning building, won't you warn the occupants so they can get out?  It would be the most loving thing to do!  There are those who are headed to a Christless eternity in Hell.  Showing them their sin and need of Jesus Christ to save them from that "burning building" is the most loving thing we can do.