In a sermon comparing those that express anything but positive comments to the Ebola virus, a pastor suggested that we ought to concentrate solely on the good in our marriages, families, and churches.
But in the world in which we live, shouldn't that instruction be conditioned to apply only to minor everyday slights?
For example, should a wife say, “My husband only backhands me once in a while, but he certainly buys me pretty things.”
Should a husband say, “I might have caught her in the backyard next door squirming around in the neighbor's lap, but I should just be satisfied because she's the only woman that would consider marrying me.”
And what about church?
Should it be said, “Well, pastor might skim off the collection plate when he thinks no one is looking and, sure, he cops a feel of the teen girls occasionally, but boy can he preach a sermon condemning nearly every last aspect of the contemporary world and how we ought to avoid contact with any church that doesn't embrace our doctrinal peculiarities in their unaltered totality.”
Frederick Meekins is an independent theologian and social critic. Frederick holds a BS in Political Science/History, a MA in Apologetics/Christian Philosophy from Trinity Theological Seminary, and a PhD. in Christian Apologetics from Newburgh Theological Seminary.