Love your neighbor

One of the top commandments is "love your neighbor" and "UNconditional love".{As opposed to being a "fair weather friend.",who only accepts you when it benefits them.}Well,whenI I tell you how some of my neighbors have done with me, I would think you would agree they're falling short on that count.One,I was supposed to take her from the airport,and it was a late flight but within the range .But I did tell her that if the flight was delayed too much,and it pushes over into me stayimg awake a few hours later, and also way past my work time the deal is off.. So the flight was late, I gave her a chance,but then it got later and later,and didn't even depart from her destination!!So even though I was texting her throughout,telling her, when it got too extreme I texted saying, sorry, but it's past my time. So the last few times I saw her since then she turned her head the other way.{But before this,I had taken care of her cats and other things{she paid me.}And at that that time,she was singing my praises,until ONE TIME I didn't come through, that's it. Also, one woman here, we were friends for a few years. She was out of work for a while, so she was getting bored and used to text me a lot. Then 1 day I was busy driving{and on the highway most of the time}so I couldn't text back. When she texted again at night(getting annoying}I texted back saying, you know, I'm busy, I can't always text back right away.That's it!!Now when I see her, she looks straight ahead to avoid looking at me.(All it takes is 1 time with a fair weather friend.}And lastly, A helper to the maintenance man, was friendly, and even asked me to help him with some things, got laid off, so was bitter about it, so takes it out on the neighbors and turns his head when you try to say hello.SOOO.....the question,if we're told to love our neighbors and show Unconditional love,isn't being a "fair weather friend" and only being friendly for what you can get from someone,a sin?I say so.The Bible reads,"there exists a friend who sticks closer than a brother',NOT, a friend whos friendly with you until ONE TIME out of 100 you can't come through. Is being a fair weather friend a work of the flesh,and a sin? I say yes. What do you say?

 

[WingsofaDove]

Yes.It is a bad quality. I had a "friend" who was very very nice to me. Until I did not grant their request. At that point they told me every single thing that was wrong with me. I saw at that time that the person was only using me to see what I would do for them. It is a terrible way to be and they also turned it around to make it look like my fault. ( spin doctor). I have had to pray for God to show me who to talk to because I was so tired of false friends. There are some real ones out there though.

 

[Brother James]

While it is a bad quality to be like that, we don't have to answer to them but we still have to love them and forgive them! We don't have to think about them afterwards and let them have any place in our thoughts other than kindness. Our prayers should always be to and for their relationship with Jesus

 

[Steven Bobb]

1 hour ago, Brother James said:




While it is a bad quality to be like that, we don't have to answer to them but we still have to love them and forgive them! We don't have to think about them afterwards and let them have any place in our thoughts other than kindness. Our prayers should always be to and for their relationship with Jesus


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Uh...true, they don't judge us, God does.Forgiving, them, it's noted we're to forgive but that doesn't mean we have to CONDONE their actions if they're wrong. We have to walk the tightrope between forgiving them and CONDONING their sin.

 

[Brother James]

9 minutes ago, Steven Bobb said:




Uh...true, they don't judge us, God does.Forgiving, them, it's noted we're to forgive but that doesn't mean we have to CONDONE their actions if they're wrong. We have to walk the tightrope between forgiving them and CONDONING their sin.


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If we simply forgive them we can let them know we love them and forgive them then let it go. Then they will know we don't condone their behavior

 

[Intercessor]

I think it depends on the one who is saved and the one who is not... If they are not saved, they are only doing what a natural, unregenerated, person would do -- be spiteful, keep a record of a wrong, and not forgive you... Augustine said, "to err is human, to forgive is divine... Go the extra mile and show kindness and try to win them back, Steven... Be at peace with all men Jesus, Peter, James & Paul say... I have something I wrote on Matt 6:14-15... I will paste it, here...









“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions" (Matt 6:9-15).




Here is a litmus test to examine yourself if you are truly in the faith or not (2 Cor 13:5). If you have received the unconditional love and forgiveness of God when asking for mercy for the thousands of talents (debt we could never pay off) which we owed God, we should be so thankful that we will forgive the little fifty cents people owe us (See Matt 19:23-34). Even if it's Corrie TenBoom, she taught to forgive the Nazi soldiers that killed her sister and abused the population of the Nazi concentration camps in the book and movie, The Hiding Place. If we can't forgive others we probably haven't received salvation from our sins or at least seen their enormity of our sins next to a Holy God, or haven't been warned to see that forgiveness is a bar to salvation. "Blessed are the merciful, Jesus said, they shall receive mercy" (Matt 5:7). A forgiven heart forgives others easily and willingly, up to 70 X 7 times a day when they ask for it (Matt 18:21-22). If they don't ask for it, they are proud hypocrites, but you have to try to approach them (Matt 5:23-25), they may or may not hear it, so if they do, great, if not, bring another, if they listen, great, if not, tell the church, (if the church actually gets involved -- Well, you just witnessed a miracle right there!)... If they admit it then, great, if not just pray for their spiritual advancement, wisdom and revelation and for their salvation just like you would any other sinner (Matt 18:15-17).









You can find a lot more on forgiveness on this blog...

 

[Steven Bobb]

11 minutes ago, Intercessor said:




I think it depends on the one who is saved and the one who is not... If they are not saved, they are only doing what a natural, unregenerated, person would do -- be spiteful, keep a record of a wrong, and not forgive you... Augustine said, "to err is human, to forgive is divine... Go the extra mile and show kindness and try to win them back, Steven... Be at peace with all men Jesus, Peter, James & Paul say... I have something I wrote on Matt 6:14-15... I will paste it, here...









“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions" (Matt 6:9-15).




Here is a litmus test to examine yourself if you are truly in the faith or not (2 Cor 13:5). If you have received the unconditional love and forgiveness of God when asking for mercy for the thousands of talents (debt we could never pay off) which we owed God, we should be so thankful that we will forgive the little fifty cents people owe us (See Matt 19:23-34). Even if it's Corrie TenBoom, she taught to forgive the Nazi soldiers that killed her sister and abused the population of the Nazi concentration camps in the book and movie, The Hiding Place. If we can't forgive others we probably haven't received salvation from our sins or at least seen their enormity of our sins next to a Holy God, or haven't been warned to see that forgiveness is a bar to salvation. "Blessed are the merciful, Jesus said, they shall receive mercy" (Matt 5:7). A forgiven heart forgives others easily and willingly, up to 70 X 7 times a day when they ask for it (Matt 18:21-22). If they don't ask for it, they are proud hypocrites, but you have to try to approach them (Matt 5:23-25), they may or may not hear it, so if they do, great, if not, bring another, if they listen, great, if not, tell the church, (if the church actually gets involved -- Well, you just witnessed a miracle right there!)... If they admit it then, great, if not just pray for their spiritual advancement, wisdom and revelation and for their salvation just like you would any other sinner (Matt 18:15-17).









You can find a lot more on forgiveness on this blog...








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Actually, one of them, the handymans helper, IS a Christian....but read my post in the prayer request section,"Praise report part 2" to see how I said something that woke him up.

 

[Intercessor]

Good job, yes we are our brothers' keepers... there is a fine line between condoning sin and unforgiveness... If they won't forgive you, Jesus says pray for them as if they were not saved... he even prescribes that to enemies, and He and Stephen walked the walk on that one, forgiving and living the ones killing them...