Regardless of how "lawful" a thing may be for us, if it is not a necessity but just a matter of our pleasure and desire, and if we know that it will distress our brethren and sisters, and weaken the ecclesia, and perhaps even divide it; and if we ignore the tears and pleadings of those who implore us to put the love of God and the peace and welfare of the ecclesia ahead of our own selfishness -- and if we still go ahead with our willful course, then we have committed a serious sin before God. We have brazenly declared that our own present pleasure and satisfaction is more important to us than the love of God or the ecclesia's well-being. We have declared that we neither have nor understand the beautiful, self-sacrificing spirit of Christ, and that we are, therefore, none of his. We may argue all too truly that few indeed have this. That's beside the point. The point is: do WE have it? Can we face Christ without it?

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