On my Friday night show, The “O” Word, the topic of discussion was a poseur, who went by the handle of “Tigerbo” and claimed to be a 30-year combat veteran and a retired Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel who was suffering from PTSD and successfully fighting off a harrowing case of bone marrow cancer and had suffered through the death of his wife “in his arms.” Turns out that John Dawson was none of those things – and, in fact, his (now ex-)wife had not died in his arms, but in her owns words had nearly “died at his hands.” He washed out of Marine Corps boot camp and never served a day in the military.

During the show, a listener (Patriotgreg, a fine man, naturalized American Citizen, Christian, and all-around good guy) got pretty heated in the chat room and kept trying to bring “Christian Compassion” into the discussion of whether or not what John had done was deserving of our pity, or what path we should take when dealing with him. It was Patriotgreg’s position that until we heard from John directly, we should not judge him. Another guest, Pastor Ed, had in fact talked to John about the whole thing and John had denied any wrong doing.

I want to focus on the “Christian Compassion” part of Patriotgreg’s statement. He is sure that we need to have more compassion, and give John the benefit of the doubt. I and several of my listeners disagreed, and unfortunately Greg left the show in a huff.

I believe that “Christian Compassion” is not, as Greg asserted, giving someone a free pass when that person has transgressed. I believe that “Christian Compassion” is, instead, holding that person to the standards that are found throughout the Bible. That is, it is more compassionate to hold each other to Christ’s standards than to let a fellow Christian slide away from Him. By allowing a brother or sister to slide away, you would be helping to condemn him or her (and yourself!) to eternal life apart from Christ. By holding your brothers and sisters to the high standards of Christ-like living, and expecting them to hold you to the same standards, you are confirming your faith in Christ and (helping to) ensuring their eternal life WITH Christ.

For more on the story, please listen to the podcast (ignore the first several minutes where I once again couldn’t get audio to work) and chime in in the comments below.

Chat ya later…

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