Saturday, November 22, 2008

Hide it under a bushel-yes, please do!

Ok, so those aren't the lyrics many of us have grown up knowing. How's it supposed to go? Hide it under a bushel-NO! I'm gonna let it shine. So then, what's with the word mix-up in the title?

The other day, Darin and I were reading an article on-line about someone from his hometown who recently suffered a serious injury on Halloween. After reading the article, we decided to scan through the comments to see if there was any additional information. Here is one of the comments we came across from a person who calls him/herself "I love Jesus" :

Hhhhhhmmmm this is why I don't like this Holiday. To many accidents and it is satan's holiday anyhow. Not sure I have remorse for this person. Bar and Casino hhhmmm Probably from someone smoking & drinking??? hhhhhmmmmm Still will pray for his healing and quick recovery

Wow, what a witness. A man is in the hospital with severe, life threatening injuries and "I love Jesus" decides that this is the time to make a case against Halloween, smoking and drinking. I guess it's all ok, because this person is still going to be praying for the victim.

WAKE UP PEOPLE. I am a far from perfect witness. There have been many times in my life, especially when I was younger, that I got up on my Christian pedestal, opened my big mouth, and said things about a situation or a person without really thinking about what I was saying. I mean, I was a Christian and I was speaking out against bad, sinful things, so of course I could do no wrong. I am sure there are people out there who could even give recent examples of my doing this.

Now, I know the recent elections are a very touchy subject for many people out there. There are a lot of people who think that America is going to hell in a hand basket. I am a pretty apathetic person when it comes to politics. I don't do a lot of research, and this year I didn't even vote (shame!) so I am not going to even get into all the political stuff, but the things that I have heard some Christians say (or write) were enough to make me cringe. I mean, can you really say without a doubt that someone is or is not a Christian?

And when it comes to dealing with the issues of abortion and homosexuality, the anger and hate and ugliness that comes from the mouths of people who say they are only speaking God's truth is something that as Christian's we should all be ashamed of. I personally believe both abortion and homosexuality are sinful, but that doesn't mean its ok to hurl insults and tear down those who believe otherwise. (However, I think it is equally wrong that many left-leaning Christian's seem to have turned their back on these two issues and often seem to put down or criticize people who vote for a candidate primarily for these two things.)

I know that I do not speak up enough as a Christian. I am often afraid of what people will think of me. I also lack the confidence to say what I believe, because I am sure that the people on the other side of the issue will talk me under the table. I often hear Christian's say that we are losing our voice and that our concerns are not being heard. Maybe that's because too many of us are like "I love Jesus". Do we really think that we are advancing the Kingdom when we make comments like that? So please, speak up, but if you can't do it in love, please keep it to yourself.

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