So, among the people that I have actively stopped following on the cursed birdsite are, shall we say, a couple of official representatives of my denomination.

And here's a thread on doctrine vs. praxis: (1/13)

I've been struggling the last few days at work. I've been bogged down in general, and a particular part of my job is communicating with industry groups of adjacent technologies.

And it's real easy to feel like a poseur talking to some of them.

(2/13)

I honestly get the feeling that I don't deserve the job, let alone the title or the money, if I'm not willing to do it 24/7 like these people apparently do.

And I don't. I have a family, and interests WAY outside of my profession. I clock out and take my brain with me. (3/13)

So, last night, one of my best friends, who is very much also in the biz and very close to the same job description, gave me a pep talk.

Now about her, she is:
- Not a Christian (more on that in a sec)
- In an active relationship with another woman

(4/13)

She was raised RC...very, VERY poorly. Bad catechesis (One of our roughest arguments was about the necessity of believing in THE INCARNATION to be a Christian), physical abuse in the home, sexual abuse in the parish, family members in jail for domestic violence
(5/13)

Despite all of this, she is one of the kindest people I have ever met, and has built herself into a true expert in our field.

Now,

There are people, namely some of the people that I have recently unfollowed, that would immediately look at her with suspicion...
(6/13)

...because of her sexuality. There are some that would even look at our friendship with suspicion because pEoPlE oF OpPoSiTe SeXeS cAnT bE fRiEnDs!1! And I know that a great many, if they were to compare her to the people I unfollowed, would find her lacking, purely for..
(7/13)

...doctrinal reasons.

And here's where praxis comes in.

These people I've unfollowed, in my estimation, are jerks. Callous, egotistical jerks. As best as I can tell they do not encourage people in general or in specific, except when they are quoting the Word...
(8/13)

...and I get the real impression that they think that suffices. You can, apparently, be as callous and dismissive to people as you want to be, but as long as you can quote the Word to them, you're doing EVERYTHING "out of love."

My friend, on the other hand...
(9/13)

really doesn't have to give a tinker's cuss about me, or anyone else given the hand she's been dealt, and she is always there to build up those around her.

And lest you think she's only giving me soft soap, she has told me some of the hardest things I have ever had to...
(10/13)

...hear professionally. She minces no words, but she also takes no glee in doing so. Everything is for the benefit of those around her. I'm sure there are people that think I shouldn't even be associating with "such a person," and I would, officially, like to tell...
(11/13)

...these people to pound sand, to be as polite as I can possibly be.

I'm not going to make any claims about her Justification. It isn't my place, and I pray the Spirit work even through her difficulties to bring her back.

In Sanctification though...
(12/13)

...she's got all of us beat, hands down, even if she doesn't know that she's doing it.

So, while I can't judge someone's relationship with Christ, I can sure as hell judge how well they treat other people, no matter how adjacent to the Word they claim to be.

Fin.

(13/13)