Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. (James 1:27)
For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. (1 Cor. 1:21)
He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. (John 12:25)
And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer, and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day (D&C 59:9)
I have given them thy word; and the world hateth them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. (John 17:14-17)
Follow that up with the whole story of Enoch's city of Zion where the people were all righteous to a degree that they were lifted up to heaven. Also, the countless admonitions to be a light unto the world and to love others as we would have others love us and it's no big deal to love those who love us because they loved us first- the trick is to love those who aren't lovable as well as love your enemies and pray for those who despitefully use you- I get it. What I don't get is, where and how to draw the line between being in the world and of the world. Hate the sin and love the sinner, right? So does that mean we should not voice any opinion or attempt to teach/preach anything about God's principles or expectations? We are admonished to call men to repentance, but we are not to judge. We need to remind people to remember God but never point out that God is not to be found in this world? It's important to embrace with love those who live a lifestyle Jesus Himself would counsel against (sexual sins, dishonesty, hypocrisy, greed, cruelty, just plain nastiness) but not condone their lifestyle. Where is the line to be drawn exactly?? It's not okay to murder. It's not okay to "evil speak" or spread rumors or back bite. What about being simply argumentative and critical? Whose definition do we go by for speaking "kindly"? We are to be meek but that can't mean allowing others to walk over us, can it? So when do we speak up? What is being "honest"- however painful it may be, and what is being cruel? The person being criticized or reprimanded is likely to always consider the words to be cruel. Those who attempt to follow the example of Jesus Christ, at least to whatever extent they may understand His actions and words, may be discounted or scorned. They could consider themselves in good company because that was what was done to the Mortal Christ. On the other hand, maybe they're being over-zealous or self-righteous. That is often how others will view them. So, where do you draw the line? Who knows? I pray for guidance. I want to "help" those who hate the world as I do to find the source of good news about a better world. But how do we continue to live in this world, while hating it, and not be miserable? It's lovely to be around like-minded people but that's like hiding a candle under a bushel. How to expose ourselves to the anger, hatred, violence, lasciviousness, greed, dishonesty of the world, continue to fully resist it and not get worn down and discouraged? I continue to pray for guidance.
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