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2 Peter 1:7
7 And [de] to [en] godliness [eusebeia] brotherly kindness [philadelphia]; and [de] to [en] brotherly kindness [philadelphia] charity [agape]. KJV-Interlinear
7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. NASB
When you begin to live the spiritual life, which begins with your initial desire to learn, then listening, then learning, then adopting a consistent daily study, your growth will take on a mature state of poise in your life and demeanor.
In the spiritual life, you first begin to learn orientation to God through doctrine. Then you begin to learn orientation to people as well as yourself.
As your petty annoyances begin to subside, or at least you begin to tolerate them, then you begin to develop a tolerance for people. And we all know that there can be some pretty obnoxious people out there in the world.
Some may be our neighbors, some we interact with at work, some we see in the media, some we deal with while commuting back and forth between work and home, while on the road, while shopping, and so forth.
So, brotherly kindness is tolerance with people. And tolerance begins with taking into consideration the many opinions and personalities that you will run into in life. And believe it or not, not everyone out there is going to agree with you. In fact most folks will disagree with you, most of the time.
As you get deeper and deeper into your Bible study, then you will find even more folks will disagree with you.
But, brotherly tolerance has it limitations. And those limitations exist only within truth, not the lies of the world.
‘Agape,’ is one of the three words for love, which are used in the Bible. This word, ‘agape’ in its various forms, is the word for the principle of love, or the policy. It deals with the application of truth, or the principles, precepts, guidelines, standards which come from God.
One of the many areas where this relationship with people falters, is in the peer pressures that exist between teens. The phrase, ‘rat out,’ is a good example. For example, someone commits a crime, and others refuse to tell on him because they don’t want to ‘rat’ him out. Their loyalty to the crime or the lie, is greater than their loyalty to truth.
Another example deals with the discipline of children. Society has hammered into this generation that it is wrong to discipline children. This teaches children that authority is of no importance, or good behavior is of no importance. And of course this is all satanic in nature in that any attack against truth, is a device for destroying a generation of people.
You can still love your child while you are correcting him or her. Good disciplinary practices help them learn and grow up. It also helps them to orient to life, and to live a better life.
God hammers us all in order to help us keep our eyes on Him, on truth, on our spiritual life. Does He love us any less? No. He loves us all the more, especially when we respond to His discipline and grow up as better people.
You can have a good life and you can have good relationships with people, but there are principles that guide those relationships. Do not get into the wrong crowd, just because you want to be a part of a certain group. If their motives or morals are wrong, then you are better off by backing out.
Bible doctrine helps you keep your eyes on truth, and helps you make the right choices in life. It also helps you be a more relaxed and tolerant person.
