Thus saith the Lord, "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glorieth glory in this: that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exerciseth lovingkindess, judgment, and righetousness, in the earth, for in these things I delight," saith the Lord. -- Jeremiah 9:23-24
Today at church, I finally accepted something that I've been trying to ignore for the past few weeks. For a while now, I feel as if I've been maintaining some facade that I can no longer keep up. In attempts to gather a deeper understanding of people and world events, I feel that I have compromised my own beliefs in hopes that I could convince others that I'm more liberal than I actually am. In all honesty, I'm a Christian. Ever since my mother compromised her elementary school teacher salary to put me and my brother through Christian parochial school, I've been weaned on Christian principles that place limitations on what I can and cannot support. If one were to examine the beliefs that am passionate about, it would become apparent that they closely parallel those held by Christian conservatives. I've been hesitant to accept the title of "conservative" due to the many negative connotations associated to the term and the many political and religious models that have given it a bad name. I mean, I'm contemporary. Not all of the music that I listen to is gospel, and I am in the process of learning how to be disciplined when it comes to praying and reading my Bible daily. After hearing today's sermon, I am hereby refusing to dissociate myself from something that I believe is inherently attached to my morals, values, and beliefs. I just might be conservative.
Now that I am accepting this title, I feel that it is my responsibility to clear up the misconceptions that are intrinsically linked to it. Something that I feel has been terribly amiss from conservatism is the concept that we are to love, not tolerate. If we approach love as a noun, we know it to be patient, kind, not boastful, envious or proud as outlined in 1 Corinthians 13. However, if we choose to approach it as a verb, love is, at its core, do unto others as you would have them do unto you and love others as you love yourself. Recently, Oprah aired a segment that featured a comment that many people had trouble digesting:
In the above clip, Reverend Ed Bacon makes the declaration that being gay is a "gift from God." His basis for his statement is that each individual is equipped with God-given talents and capabilities that are intended to make the world a more livable place. This is true. But in Christianity, homosexuality is a sin as evidenced in 1 Corinthians 6 and God's reactions to Sodom and Gomorrah. In my book, biblical substantiation overrides public opinion. Informing people that what God considers sin is in actuality a gift is fallible and dangerous. Now, if we recognize homosexuality as a sin, that does not give Christians a license to hate in the name of protecting and preserving Christian values. In John 13:34, Jesus commands us to love others as He has loved us, which means that we are to treat each other with unconditional love and respect. No one is inoculated from sin. We are all faulty and have fallen short of the grace of God (Romans 3:23). Therefore, in the midst of these questionable times, it is imperative that we pray for each other and hold one another accountable in lieu of judging one another for their imperfections.
In being conservative, I cannot truly say that I agree with the political views held by individuals who claim themselves as such, so I have decided to become an independent. In the last election, I voted for the person who I felt was the best presidential candidate, but due to a lack of self-education, I hastily voted a straight-democratic ticket for the other government hopefuls without conducting proper research. As a result, I could have very well played a part in electing some incompetent tyrant to office (let's hope not). From a religious viewpoint, I cannot support gay marriage or abortion. My faith doesn't allow it. In doing so, I would feel that I am denying what I hold to be true to the inerrant word of God. Therefore, I will hereby make more conscious efforts to ensure that my thoughts, words, and actions are in accordance to what is true, just, virtuous and of good report. If the world doesn't like me for it, that is fine. I just can't keep lying to myself or my God any longer.
Grace... & PEACE
Today at church, I finally accepted something that I've been trying to ignore for the past few weeks. For a while now, I feel as if I've been maintaining some facade that I can no longer keep up. In attempts to gather a deeper understanding of people and world events, I feel that I have compromised my own beliefs in hopes that I could convince others that I'm more liberal than I actually am. In all honesty, I'm a Christian. Ever since my mother compromised her elementary school teacher salary to put me and my brother through Christian parochial school, I've been weaned on Christian principles that place limitations on what I can and cannot support. If one were to examine the beliefs that am passionate about, it would become apparent that they closely parallel those held by Christian conservatives. I've been hesitant to accept the title of "conservative" due to the many negative connotations associated to the term and the many political and religious models that have given it a bad name. I mean, I'm contemporary. Not all of the music that I listen to is gospel, and I am in the process of learning how to be disciplined when it comes to praying and reading my Bible daily. After hearing today's sermon, I am hereby refusing to dissociate myself from something that I believe is inherently attached to my morals, values, and beliefs. I just might be conservative.
Now that I am accepting this title, I feel that it is my responsibility to clear up the misconceptions that are intrinsically linked to it. Something that I feel has been terribly amiss from conservatism is the concept that we are to love, not tolerate. If we approach love as a noun, we know it to be patient, kind, not boastful, envious or proud as outlined in 1 Corinthians 13. However, if we choose to approach it as a verb, love is, at its core, do unto others as you would have them do unto you and love others as you love yourself. Recently, Oprah aired a segment that featured a comment that many people had trouble digesting:
In the above clip, Reverend Ed Bacon makes the declaration that being gay is a "gift from God." His basis for his statement is that each individual is equipped with God-given talents and capabilities that are intended to make the world a more livable place. This is true. But in Christianity, homosexuality is a sin as evidenced in 1 Corinthians 6 and God's reactions to Sodom and Gomorrah. In my book, biblical substantiation overrides public opinion. Informing people that what God considers sin is in actuality a gift is fallible and dangerous. Now, if we recognize homosexuality as a sin, that does not give Christians a license to hate in the name of protecting and preserving Christian values. In John 13:34, Jesus commands us to love others as He has loved us, which means that we are to treat each other with unconditional love and respect. No one is inoculated from sin. We are all faulty and have fallen short of the grace of God (Romans 3:23). Therefore, in the midst of these questionable times, it is imperative that we pray for each other and hold one another accountable in lieu of judging one another for their imperfections.
In being conservative, I cannot truly say that I agree with the political views held by individuals who claim themselves as such, so I have decided to become an independent. In the last election, I voted for the person who I felt was the best presidential candidate, but due to a lack of self-education, I hastily voted a straight-democratic ticket for the other government hopefuls without conducting proper research. As a result, I could have very well played a part in electing some incompetent tyrant to office (let's hope not). From a religious viewpoint, I cannot support gay marriage or abortion. My faith doesn't allow it. In doing so, I would feel that I am denying what I hold to be true to the inerrant word of God. Therefore, I will hereby make more conscious efforts to ensure that my thoughts, words, and actions are in accordance to what is true, just, virtuous and of good report. If the world doesn't like me for it, that is fine. I just can't keep lying to myself or my God any longer.
Grace... & PEACE
"Therefore, I will hereby make more conscious efforts to ensure that my thoughts, words, and actions are in accordance to what is true, just, virtuous and of good report. If the world doesn't like me for it, that is fine. I just can't keep lying to myself or my God any longer."
ReplyDeleteIronically, Jess that's exactly why I take the exact opposite stance on the whole gay marriage thing. I feel called to prophesy, but that scares me to death.
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteIf God is calling you to prophesy, then it's imperative that you let Him use you… according to 2 Tim 1:7, God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and a sound mind. If we refuse to let Him speak through us, then false prophets will step in our place and convey their erroneous interpretations of the gospel for us. It's taken me a while to discern that my inability to support gay marriage is not a subtle form of bigotry. I don't hate people. If I chose to hate, I could'nt call myself a Christian. I just value what my God says over man. If I know for sure what the Bible says about a certain topic, it would be wrong of me to ignore what God says in hopes that I would appeal more to my secular audience. Whichever stance you choose to take, make sure that it is one that is rooted in love and compassion towards all of God’s children.
PEACE
Yeah, that's why I've had issues around the Bible. Too many people throwing around the phrase, "God says..." DC174 was right about those scripture missiles. It's why I don't treat the Bible and the Word as one and the same. Too susceptible to be used for evil. The Word simply can't be co-opted that way.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I changed my sign from C1972 to R.oB. I'm one and the same.
ReplyDeleteOh ok, cool. Thanks for stopping by R.oB. The Word can definitely be used for evil, but I feel that those who are truly trying to live in accordance to God's Will have been equipped with the wisdom and discernment necessary to know when someone is speaking truth or just masquerading the gospel as a "Profit Prophet." Some scriptures in the Bible are worded in a way that makes it easy for them to be misconstrued and taken out of context, but anyone who is in tune with the spirit of God can know when something just doesn't line up with what He says is right and wrong. It's kinda like a "real recognize real" situation. It's for this reason that I encourage anyone who has a desire to know God and His truth to study the Bible for themselves and ask Him for the wisdom needed to understand His Word.
ReplyDeletePEACE