Does being a Christian mean you have to like everyone?

Or that you shouldn't criticize the President of the United States?

LT Horton, who blogs regularly at Look! A black Catholic!, has a post up over at Ignitum Today where she tackles the tyranny of nice:

Recently I posted this. Well, following its publication, I engaged in a conversation with someone very close to me, who did not think it very “Christian” of me to dislike our current POTUS. The following is a letter I wrote to this individual. My intent was never to post this but after much thought and prayer, I realized what I said needed to be heard. I’ve edited the letter to remove this person’s name and any identifiers.

Dear Friend,

I know we disagree on politics. We don’t have to agree on political issues, but since you chose to reprimand me by stating that as a Christian I should not say the things I say about Obama, I must firmly disagree. Respectfully, I must prove that you are wrong in your assertion that being a Christian means you must like everyone.

I once read:

St. Paul writes to Timothy (2 Tim 4:2-4), Proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths….

At no place in the Sacred Scriptures does it say: Be nice! However, popular portrayals of Christianity would lead us to think that the first and greatest commandment is niceness.

I was originally going to focus on three things in this letter.

1. Abortion

2. Same-sex marriage

3. Religious freedom

However, I realized that each of these issues is very detailed and therefore to ensure that I can fully relay as much information as possible, I decided to center on one issue; and to be quite honest, all I need is one, to make my point.

...

So, THIS is one of the reasons why as a Christian I MUST speak out against our current president. To sit silently would make me an accomplice. I’m not a lawyer, a politician, or a minister, so my power only comes from my words. Therefore I can only write and speak the Truth; and the Truth is, “Proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths…”

Clearly, there's more and yes, it's worthy.

And enlightening.

But not for the faint hearted or the easily offended... especially those of you so easily put off by people who aren't... "nice".

Wimps.

You know who you are.

Comments

[Ilíon]

"Wimps."

I would say, passive-aggressive hypocrites; the last word being reference to the fact that the adherents of Nice-anity are frequently among the least-nice when one disagrees with them about anything.