Walking the Talk Pt. 2

Why do Christians have such a bad name in our society?

Actually, that's an interesting question...because Christians label themselves by the most beautiful name in the universe. And yet, our society generally views us in a very negative light. Why? Well, even when Jesus was on earth, He said that the world would hate His followers because it hates Him. But honestly, I feel like sometimes our behavior is responsible for that even so. In a previous post, Walking the Talk, I talked a lot about this, but today I have a little more to say.

I was reading Titus 2 today and came across this: "Slaves must always obey their masters and do their best to please them. They must not talk back or steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way." (Titus 2:9-10)

God wants to attract people to Him. And He wants to do that through us. But are we doing a very good job? If we're bickering and bashing all the time...how is that attractive?

I think too many Christians in our American society today have gotten so wrapped up in the "rules" and in "right and wrong" that they've forgotten what the name they wear actually stands for. Yes, in the Word, Jesus talks a lot about sin, but He also talks a lot about love. I think John 3:17 says it well, "God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him." If Jesus didn't even come to judge the world, why are we so intent on doing that? Our mission is to go out into the world and tell people about God's love, not to tell people that they're wrong.

I absolutely believe in right and wrong, and I believe that the Bible clearly outlines it. I am no advocate of watering down Scripture to make it more attractive. I believe that we should speak the truth, but that we should speak it at the appropriate time, and above all, in love. That's the point. After all, what did Jesus say the second greatest commandment was? To judge your neighbor as yourself? Nope. To love.

Please don't get me wrong, I know a lot of Christians who are really good at loving people. Not all Christians are judgmental and hateful; I know lots of wonderful Christ-followers. However, I believe that we can all do a better job of loving, and maybe if we did a better job, that would counter the judgment that comes from certain other Christians. I'll be honest: I know for me, personally, that I'm good at ignoring people I don't want to love. I'm not mean to them, but I don't love them like I should. She swears a lot and talks about all the bad stuff she does on the weekends? Nope, I'm staying away from that, not talking to her!...Really, Katie? Did Jesus ever ignore anyone because He disagreed with them? I don't think so. Whether we straight-out bash non-believers, or we just stay away from them while judging silently, the point is, we aren't loving them. And that's our mission.

I think the world has had enough judgment from us, but not enough love. Can we challenge ourselves to love the people that we disagree with? I don't mean your fellow believer who you get into theological debates with. I mean the people you really disagree with. Like the homosexual person you work with. Or the atheist you go to class with. Can we try to really love them like Jesus does? Can we, instead of getting into moral debates, or disregarding them, just be a friend to them and show ourselves to be "trustworthy and good?" Because that's how we love like Jesus loves. That's how we show the Gospel to be attractive. That's how we walk the talk.

9/11

Every time September 11th comes, social media is flooded with prayers, photos, and statuses related to the terrorist attack in 2001. Things like freedom and sacrifice are mentioned a lot. Usually I contribute to it all with the same theme. But as the 11th rolls around again this year, I'm not thinking about taking a stand against terrorists, or fighting for freedom.

I'm thinking about love.

Why did we get attacked on September 11th, 2001? There, of course, are a lot of reasons...but to me, it comes down to the fact that the people who carried out the attacks on that day didn't know about the value of human life, or about equality; to sum it all up, they didn't know about love. Would they have attacked our country if they truly believed that every person is valuable? That every person has a life just like them? Would they have killed all those innocent people if they believed that those people were loved? Would they have done this if they knew that they were loved? I don't think so.

I'm not trying to be flowery here. This is a real-world issue, I get it, and just saying, "love is all you need" isn't going to cut it. Honestly, most of the politics that swirl around these issues confuse me; they're over my head. I'm sure the people who carried out the attacks that day had several reasons for their actions, and the reasons were probably very complex. I'm sure they were intelligent people. But in spite of all their intelligence and complexity, they totally missed something extremely important: the people they were attacking were people just like them. Regardless of who they were and what they believed. What a person believes and what nationality they are has absolutely no bearing on their value...or their relation to you. The bottom line is, everyone has value. The Americans that got attacked on the 11th hurt for a very long time, and are still hurting. And the people who attacked them would have hurt in the same way if it had happened to them. Because despite differing beliefs, we are all human. We know what it feels like to hurt. None of us want to. So why do we insist on inflicting that hurt on others?

Do we want peace? Truly? Then we need to start to love. It isn't a question of who's right. It's a question of who is loved, and who has value, and the answer to that is: everyone. To me, 9/11 represents what happens when love is not put first. It represents what happens when selfish ambition, pride, and hate are prioritized. The result is chaos, and pain, and more hate. It makes me very sad to think about the families who lost loved ones on that day, but it makes me even sadder to think of the blindness that started this in the first place. The people who launched the attack on September 11th may have wanted chaos and pain for our country, and they got it. But no one wants pain for themselves. If they had only realized before that these people were just like them, that these people deserve to be loved (because they are loved by a much higher power), then I don't believe those attacks would have taken place.

There's nothing we can do about what happened in 2001. But today, we can do something to overcome the mindset that started it. We can refuse to view people as just citizens, or just beliefs. We can begin to view them as living, breathing, talking, walking, thinking, hurting people who have amazing value, no matter what they believe or who they are. We can't change everyone's perspective, but we can change ours. It starts with us,  it starts with you, it starts with me.

And I choose to love.

A person's a person no matter how small.

Why do I always have the need to blog when I feel a rant coming on? Maybe because blogging is just a way to get my thoughts out, or maybe it's because I feel like you need to know about whatever I'm angry about too. Anyway..I really don't want to rant right now, I want to pray.

Right now I'm writing a speech on a former abortion clinic director, and so I'm having to lightly research abortion, and I'm like..Seriously? How can so many people think this is an okay thing? Just go on Planned Parenthood's official website and you'll see what I mean. They proudly announce that they provide services that are "safe and legal", services that respect your rights, and that abortions are actually only 3% of what goes on at the organization. In fact, if you want to know exactly what kinds of abortions that are available, they'll tell you in a nice, neat little section on their website, describing to you what will happen during the procedure, always with the comfort of you, the patient, in mind. All the while totally ignoring (or maybe not realizing) what's really happening. All the while realizing that there are two patients in that procedure - not just one. But only one will walk out of that room alive.

What is going on with our culture!? I think we can talk about how sinful and evil it all is all we want, but in the end, that's only half of it. The other half is this: our culture is blinded. God has given everyone a conscience, but when that conscience isn't listened to, it gets quieter and quieter, until finally, it can't be heard. These people who think this is right aren't just lying to themselves: in my opinion, they honestly believe that this is right. But they are blinded. Father, take our blinders off!

Lord, wake us up. Open the eyes of our culture, of our media, of our country. Send a revival of life over us!

rant.

Okay, I gotta get this off my chest...

Why do people have to swear? I know that sounds naive, and I really do understand why. Sometimes the pain that comes from dropping something really heavy on your toe doesn't seem to be covered by a simple "ouch". But I think Christians, and people of influence, and especially people with influence who call themselves Christians need to be careful.

I admit, this is kind of directed to something I saw on Twitter: someone who claimed to be a Christian and who I thought was really cool randomly dropped an f-bomb. Um, what? Really? ...I guess what irks me so much is that blurting something out in the heat of the moment is one thing, but intentionally typing something out is quite another.

I know that swearing does not take away your "Christian card", and it doesn't make God love you any less, but it still bothers me. Maybe because when I see that, I think of this verse: "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do." (1 Peter 1:15) We all sin, and none of us can be completely holy. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try, that we should just keep sinning because God loves us anyway. ("Why stop sinning, when he keeps forgiving?" If you haven't seen that video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOGlSQlMUSA)

Forgive me for ranting, but I think that our words are something we can control, to some extent. Especially our typed words, for goodness' sake. If you speak the same words and use the same vulgar language as the rest of the world, what is going to make you as a Christian any different from the non-believers around you?

Seriously. This doesn't just apply to our words, but all our actions: The church needs to WAKE UP and realize that we are not of the world!! So why do we keep trying? We serve a holy, spotless God: why would we want to imitate the trash of the world??

Argh. Lord, please wake us up.