Chapter 20 On Bearing Others’ Infirmities Our lofty idealism would argue that all Christians should be perfect, but a blunt realism forces us to admit that perfection is rare even among the saints. The part of wisdom is to accept our Christian brothers and sisters for what they are rather than for what they should be. We do not wish to excuse the laziness of the saints or to provide carnality with a place to hide, but it is necessary that we face facts. And the plain fact is that the average Christian