As my blog states, this is my rant. Whether based off of personal experience or through things that others have shared, I am going to share my views. They may not always be popular, but one thing you can guarantee, they will be real and spoken from the heart. I never intend to hurt anyone with my straight forward way of speaking but I don't lie and I always take the stance that if someone says something I am offended by, then I should look inwards to make sure that it is not a conviction. If it is, then I correct myself and move on. I'm just saying, I'm keeping it real here and I hope you hear my heart in what I say. With that said, here is my next blog...
The one thing that I have never understood and I guess I never will, is peoples ability to judge the action of others when they do not know the whole story. It's like saying the world is flat because that is all that you see but you will never change your perspective unless you step out and walk past your current view to find that the world is round and not what you first imagined.
I understand that there are those that lie and so you can't trust everyone. With that said, the one thing I hate most is lying. However, if you have known a person for years and you trusted them all that time, then if they are telling you something based off of their personal experience, you should give them the benefit of the doubt. Even if it's about someone that you may know and trust. If there is a dispute between two parties and you know them both well, I am not saying that you should choose one over the other but I am saying that you should not discount your friends feelings. Evidently something has happened, even if you are not privy to the whole situation and that deserves your consideration. There is always two sides to every story. I just don't understand how people discount others especially when the writing is on the wall.
Take the bible for instance, you have the four gospels and in them you have virtually all the same stories but they are told from a different perspective based off of the writers viewing at the time. It doesn't mean that they contradict each other, it just means that one writer decided to tell you what he saw and chose what to include and what not to include in their story based on their audience. All the stories are true and line up but are told from different perspectives.
As Christians, we should hold ourselves to a higher standard. If someone comes to you that is hurting and they are your friend, you should care enough to take what they are telling you into consideration. Maybe they are not trying to cause an issue but trying to understand a situation or trying to let you know about something that could be detrimental to you. With that said, if you are that person and if someone is not listening to you then all you can do is walk away. You remain friends of course, if they will allow it, but walk away and just continue to pray for them. There are so many people out there that are going through so much and we have no idea because we are not walking in their shoes. Instead of judging them, why don't you pray for them. Instead of turning your back on them, why don't you lend them a shoulder or an ear. Instead of casting stones why don't you forgive. One thing I know, nobody ever likes the whistle blower, but then people always want to know why someone didn't step up and say something. With that in mind, don't crucify the one that is bold enough to step up and try to change things.
I believe that the biggest problem that we have with society today is that everyone is quick to make a judgment without seeking out the truth. We are a society of quick and senseless decisions because we just don't want to take the time to find out the truth. If we see one person and they have a great argument or a good personality and speaking ability, we assume they are right and we go along with it. We never stop to consider that they may be dead wrong. That is a very dangerous attitude to have. Think about a politician, they may be eloquent of speech but that doesn't mean they are telling the truth.
If you are a Christian, there is one thing I want to say. We need to stop playing church and start being the church. God has not called us to hurt one another or to hurt those that don't know Him. God has called us to be the change we want to see in others. He wants us to step out of our seats in the building that we attend a service at (notice I didn't say church because we are the church) and start making a difference in the lives of those around us. We are to be the healers of this nation and our society. We should be reflecting Him in what we do. I am not saying that we have to be perfect but we should be loving and we should be a place of refuge for those that are in need. I am tired of our westernized way of thinking that it is all about a building. I am tired of continually trying to build mans kingdom and not Gods. Lastly, I am tired of there being a (Church) building on every corner and people are not being changed because we have a "what about me" mentality and we are not loving one another as we should. Why would the world ever want to be a Christian if when they look at us all they see is a bunch of people in turmoil and chaos that are hurting each other. That is no different than what they get from the world.
I am a Christian and I believe that we have a lot of issues in our current society, but I also believe that we have a lot of good. We need to seek out the good. We need to help those that are hurting. We need to stop throwing our words around like stones and start speaking words of love and healing to those that have been hurt. It doesn't matter what hurt has occurred in a persons life, all can be healed. You may have been hurt by a friend, a spouse, a family member, a church, a stranger or you may have been hurt by the one person that you trusted the most, but that person is not God. God is the one person that won't hurt you. He is the only one that judges righteously and He loved you enough to know that you couldn't get it perfect, no matter how hard you tried. He loved you so much that when He saw that you would fail, He intervened by sending His son Jesus to come and die for you so that you could be forgiven, healed and set free. He wanted to get a direct line to you and the only way to do that was through His son and His Holy Spirit.
There are two things that I want to make clear. One, He loves you no matter what you have done and no matter how badly you have messed up. That applies no matter whether you are a Christian or someone who has never known God. Two, you have not messed up so badly that can't run to Him or back to Him. There is nothing that you've said or done that is a surprise to Him. He knows you better than you know yourself and He is waiting for you to turn to Him. He is always waiting. Always!!!
The one thing that I have never understood and I guess I never will, is peoples ability to judge the action of others when they do not know the whole story. It's like saying the world is flat because that is all that you see but you will never change your perspective unless you step out and walk past your current view to find that the world is round and not what you first imagined.
I understand that there are those that lie and so you can't trust everyone. With that said, the one thing I hate most is lying. However, if you have known a person for years and you trusted them all that time, then if they are telling you something based off of their personal experience, you should give them the benefit of the doubt. Even if it's about someone that you may know and trust. If there is a dispute between two parties and you know them both well, I am not saying that you should choose one over the other but I am saying that you should not discount your friends feelings. Evidently something has happened, even if you are not privy to the whole situation and that deserves your consideration. There is always two sides to every story. I just don't understand how people discount others especially when the writing is on the wall.
Take the bible for instance, you have the four gospels and in them you have virtually all the same stories but they are told from a different perspective based off of the writers viewing at the time. It doesn't mean that they contradict each other, it just means that one writer decided to tell you what he saw and chose what to include and what not to include in their story based on their audience. All the stories are true and line up but are told from different perspectives.
As Christians, we should hold ourselves to a higher standard. If someone comes to you that is hurting and they are your friend, you should care enough to take what they are telling you into consideration. Maybe they are not trying to cause an issue but trying to understand a situation or trying to let you know about something that could be detrimental to you. With that said, if you are that person and if someone is not listening to you then all you can do is walk away. You remain friends of course, if they will allow it, but walk away and just continue to pray for them. There are so many people out there that are going through so much and we have no idea because we are not walking in their shoes. Instead of judging them, why don't you pray for them. Instead of turning your back on them, why don't you lend them a shoulder or an ear. Instead of casting stones why don't you forgive. One thing I know, nobody ever likes the whistle blower, but then people always want to know why someone didn't step up and say something. With that in mind, don't crucify the one that is bold enough to step up and try to change things.
I believe that the biggest problem that we have with society today is that everyone is quick to make a judgment without seeking out the truth. We are a society of quick and senseless decisions because we just don't want to take the time to find out the truth. If we see one person and they have a great argument or a good personality and speaking ability, we assume they are right and we go along with it. We never stop to consider that they may be dead wrong. That is a very dangerous attitude to have. Think about a politician, they may be eloquent of speech but that doesn't mean they are telling the truth.
If you are a Christian, there is one thing I want to say. We need to stop playing church and start being the church. God has not called us to hurt one another or to hurt those that don't know Him. God has called us to be the change we want to see in others. He wants us to step out of our seats in the building that we attend a service at (notice I didn't say church because we are the church) and start making a difference in the lives of those around us. We are to be the healers of this nation and our society. We should be reflecting Him in what we do. I am not saying that we have to be perfect but we should be loving and we should be a place of refuge for those that are in need. I am tired of our westernized way of thinking that it is all about a building. I am tired of continually trying to build mans kingdom and not Gods. Lastly, I am tired of there being a (Church) building on every corner and people are not being changed because we have a "what about me" mentality and we are not loving one another as we should. Why would the world ever want to be a Christian if when they look at us all they see is a bunch of people in turmoil and chaos that are hurting each other. That is no different than what they get from the world.
I am a Christian and I believe that we have a lot of issues in our current society, but I also believe that we have a lot of good. We need to seek out the good. We need to help those that are hurting. We need to stop throwing our words around like stones and start speaking words of love and healing to those that have been hurt. It doesn't matter what hurt has occurred in a persons life, all can be healed. You may have been hurt by a friend, a spouse, a family member, a church, a stranger or you may have been hurt by the one person that you trusted the most, but that person is not God. God is the one person that won't hurt you. He is the only one that judges righteously and He loved you enough to know that you couldn't get it perfect, no matter how hard you tried. He loved you so much that when He saw that you would fail, He intervened by sending His son Jesus to come and die for you so that you could be forgiven, healed and set free. He wanted to get a direct line to you and the only way to do that was through His son and His Holy Spirit.
There are two things that I want to make clear. One, He loves you no matter what you have done and no matter how badly you have messed up. That applies no matter whether you are a Christian or someone who has never known God. Two, you have not messed up so badly that can't run to Him or back to Him. There is nothing that you've said or done that is a surprise to Him. He knows you better than you know yourself and He is waiting for you to turn to Him. He is always waiting. Always!!!
