Jesus, Love, Tolerance & America: The Unpopular Truth

hollymarietong — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 02:28:32 +0000

Alright….it’s time we just cut to the chase here. I’ve been gone from this blog for far too long.

Go ahead and get mad at me, but God has really been placing some things on my heart: Some things that are going to be considered unpopular in the eyes of the world.

I’ve hesitated to post this blog because Facebook (and the internet in general), is becoming such a war zone, and I HATE conflict. However, after days (actually months) of not obeying him on sharing these words, I’m going to now.

In fact, I’m going to start blogging more. I started this “Strong With Holly Marie Tong” blog months back out of obedience to him, and I must confess I got lazy. I knew specifically what God was leading me to do with it, but I was afraid: Afraid of losing friends, afraid of saying the unpopular thing, etc.

……But today? I feel completely convicted. I know I’ve been putting it off. I know I’ve lacked boldness. I know it’s time for me to step up to the plate. So here’s just a small, small sample of what’s been on my mind:

No one is perfect and we all have our struggles. I know I don’t deserve God’s grace. I’m thankful for it every day. <—- Let’s establish that first.

We’re all a work in progress and America is one big construction site. Let’s just remember who is in the center of it all.

I guess I’m just baffled by how deceived so many people currently are. There’s so much twisted logic. I see so much being “added” to God’s word and “taken away” from God’s word, as I scroll through the Facebook newsfeed, watch TV, read articles and just listen to people talk.

It’s one thing to struggle with sin (as we all do), but it’s quite another to ignore what the word says completely, to praise sin, to encourage sin and to flat out promote it. Whether I “like” EVERYTHING the word tells me to do or to not do….and whether I even always “do” everything it tells me to do or not to do..I *still* know what it says. WHY is this becoming such a hard concept for believers suddenly? I’m not even referring to non-believers here. I’m referring to believers.

Also, this tolerance stuff that is CONSTANTLY being preached: In God’s word, we are 110% told to love one another. Make no mistake. Love was what Jesus mentioned most in the Bible. YES! 110% yes…..but as part of that love, he NEVER said, “and please ignore the rest of my word, please trust everyone you meet without question and while you’re at it….make sure you praise and glorify false religions which are contrary to my word.”

Listen folks, we can 110% LOVE without agreeing with people or praising things contrary to the word. We can also love without automatically trusting every single person we meet. The Bible also tells us to be careful of the company we keep and to go to him for wisdom. Disagreeing with someone or calmly pointing to what the word says does NOT equal “hate.” In fact, the word “hate” is becoming WAY overused. The media has fueled this and has loved every minute of it. I think it is one of satan’s most clever schemes that these lines get blurred and that we mix all this up. I think it is one of his most clever schemes that our loving Jesus suddenly appear as a tolerant Jesus who gladly tolerates sin and false teachings. This is not the case, friends. If you don’t believe me, please get into the word as I’ve had to.

I’ve heard my Pastor often say the reason God is so against sin is BECAUSE HE LOVES US and he’s against anything that hurts his children. With that thought in mind, are we REALLY loving someone when we encourage or praise them on the wrong path? A path that’s leading to destruction?

(IE – If I have a close friend that tells me they’ve decided they don’t need God, and they begin cheating on their spouse and lying to their children….is is really “love” if I tell them that I support them 110% in what they’re doing, all while knowing they’re on the path of destruction?)

Sure, we need to be extremely careful in how we handle one another. More often than not, I usually don’t “call out” anyone, unless they’re a very close friend of mine and we keep one another accountable. Many times I just show kindness, try to be a positive example and hope I get through in some way. However, I also certainly don’t encourage people to live it up on a destructive path either. I can’t do that in good conscience. If anyone were to ask me how I feel about any given topic, I’m going to lovingly be honest with them. I believe that’s what we’re supposed to do. Oftentimes, the “opening” never quite happens, but when it does, that’s our chance to point to God’s word. And since GOD IS LOVE….kindly pointing them to his word is what I consider “love.” If I’m out of line, I want to be told I’m out of line. I’m glad my closest friends can be honest with me, rather than praise my sins!

I also keep noticing that some of the “love” and “tolerance” posters on social media….just happen to be the ones spewing the most hate and intolerance. They’re the ones constantly posting, while some of us who truly do love others, but simply completely disagree, sit back and feel like we’re being lectured for simply believing the Bible.

It reminds me of Madonna’s recent speech: “I’ve really thought about blowing up the White House……….But I choose love.”

Let’s be clear about another thing too: Referencing the Bible is not “hate speech”…never has been, never will be. If you want to believe what the word says about “love”….then why don’t some of you believe anything else it says? It’s as if a marker has scribbled out everything, except the word “love,” for some of you.

Just for the record: This post is NOT directed towards any one single person. I have a wide variety of people on my newsfeed from all over the place and my head currently hurts from reading far too many statuses. For months, I’ve been holding back on posts like this. As I conclude this blog, I see that I have 2,085 friends. I fully expect to see that number decrease when I hit share….but you know what? That’s okay. I know my inner circle, and I know that those who truly love me will stick around.

For those of you that don’t like this…guess what? I’ve seen your relentless posts for MONTHS. I haven’t agreed with many of you, but I’ve scrolled on past. I’ve continued to show you love and respect by not arguing with you and by continuing to treat you the same as I always have. The question is, will you show me the same?

Those of you that keep preaching love, but yet appear to “hate” our president: Just remember while preaching love and tolerance that love and tolerance should also be available for people who actually support President Trump. Love and tolerance should also be extended to Christians who believe in the whole Bible.

Phew….That’s enough for tonight. Just know that I’m BACK! Stayed tuned for my next upcoming blog.

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Jesus, Love, Tolerance & America: The Unpopular Truth