mwheat2 asked this question on 8/10/2000:

"Be thou now hot or cold. Be thou LUKEWARM, I will eschew thee out of My mouth."

[Eschew: fancy Biblical term for "throw-up my stomach of you."

What do you think this means in terms of tolerating religious injustice and systemic apathy?

Greetings:

Your question has saddened me because it made me look at my own life.

Every morning I wish with all my heart not to be lukewarm as one who does give a fervent answer to the love God showers on me every day. Every evening I find myself judged by this verse as having been what I didn't want to be, lukewarm.

What I find most difficult is the answer of the servus Dei, the Lamb of God that didn't open his mouth in protest against those who treated him unjustly. He gave himself into the care of Who judges with justice. Jesus had told the truth to everyone but then picked up His cross.

I find it difficult to react against people who tolerate religious injustice and systemic apathy when I haven�t eradicated it from my own life.

How do I know that the other one hasn't been conditioned from childhood? How do I know the other one doesn�t try to do what he thinks is right? How do I know if the Lord has willed that there may exist this person that exacerbates me in order to teach me to love my enemy? (2 Sam 16:9 Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head." 10 But the king said, "What do you and I have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD said to him, �Curse David,� who can ask, �Why do you do this?�")

Wrong is wrong. You have to denounce it. You have to tell the person(s) in question that what they do is wrong. But I should love that person in the name of God. And because I love this person I have to show him that he does wrong. But I have to love him.

So the verse you mention denounces me because I have lost my first love before the Lord and his children be they bad or be they good.

vale

mscperu