At what cost would you make your stand

How far would you take it?  How strong are you in your faith?  To what point will you hold your ground against the threat of oppression from someone telling you, you can’t do Gods work.

I heard a story about a little girl (elementary school age) who got in trouble at school for sharing her faith with her classmates. Yes, actually got sent to the principles office.  Good for her!  I pray that Corde has a similar experience… up to this point and here’s why. Her father, a Christian man, didn’t stand up for what she was doing.  Basically he sided with the school and instructed is daughter to not share her faith with her friends at school anymore for fear that she would get into trouble.  (let me interject, because I know what some are thinking… she wasn’t disrupting class. this was going on during recess)  I’m not questioning the fathers relationship with God, that’s not my point.  But, I am questioning his reasoning for not standing up for his daughter and more importantly, seeing the work God was doing through her and not standing up for that.

And here comes all the, “what if…” (what if she got kicked out of school, what if she got suspended).  I don’t have all the answers to all the “what if” questions but I do have a simple comparison that might put this perspective.  History has shown us that there have been people willing to die for their belief in Christ and their willingness to spread God’s word (the Apostle Paul for example).  What are you afraid of? (fear God, not man)

Back to the original story, here is an innocent little girl doing only what she has been taught in Sunday school and a father unwilling to standup for her.  Did he not think that God would take care of one of His children doing His work?

So, how far do you personally take the fight?  I really want to hear from you, especially those that work in an environment where they feel they can’t be too Christian because it’s not “appropriate”.  I’m not picking on you but how do justify that?  Maybe I’m full of it and making a big deal out of nothing… Maybe this really isn’t going on... Maybe we should only display our love for Christ to other Christians on Sunday behind the confining walls of the church (so not to hurt anyone’s feelings).

A personal note to Corde: Baby, daddy loves you and will always fight for you and the work you'll do for God.

What’s missing form that person’s life?

I recently heard about a poll that was done surveying women asking them what they are unwilling to give up. The results revealed that a majority of women are not willing to give up their cosmetics (everything from lipstick to cosmetic surgery). I thought it was funny, and reflective of the society we live in, that in a time when we’re in an economic down fall, with unemployment up, and a stock market down; a majority of women are more concerned with physical appearance than anything else.

This is a good time for me to cover my ass. I didn’t write the article and I did conduct the poll. These are just the results as I heard them. I also believe that a majority of you reading this post don’t fall into this category. So that begs the questions, who are these people and what is missing from their life?

I’m not just talking about those with XX chromosome. Watch the news for just one night or read anyone of the article teasers from the magazines in a checkout line and you’ll see what I’m talking about. This isn’t a new concept or concern; I’m just bringing light to the age-old problem of selfishness. Who feels the need to cosmetically alter their appearance (first being concerned with paying for a physical modification and second providing for their family and others)? Who is so self-involved with work that they need the top 10 tips on how to climb the corporate ladder (doing whatever it take do get ahead of your coworker)?

So what’s missing from the life of the person who feels that hey need an article titled “9 Tricks to Pick Up Any Woman” (Men’s Health), “Looking Gorgeous: What Women Won't Give Up” (Forbes), or “The art of quietly working angles” (Men’s Health)? Jesus had a simple message… Love. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” and “love your neighbor as yourself.” Once again, I’m not telling you anything you haven’t heard before. I’m just making an observation in the lives of those that probably don’t know Christ. At first you may be tempted to say, “they don’t have the love of God”. But that’s not true. They may not know Gods love but that doesn’t mean He doesn’t love them. I think what they’re really missing is our love. When we show others love, we reflect the love Christ showed us. That’s how non-believers see that Gods love is real (in action through us), not by us calling them out on things we find to be “non-Christian”.

Guys, tell your wife, girlfriend, whatever… that you love her; more importantly show her that you love her (“…love your wife, just as Christ loved the church…”). Maybe if more women felt the love they deserve they wouldn’t feel the need to live up to societies cruel standards. Ladies, tell your husband, boyfriend, whatever… that you’re proud of him, thank him for taking care of your family, and let him know that you appreciate him. More importantly let him know that he is needed and loved more at home than at the office. Maybe if more guys realized the importance of their family they would shift their attention and priorities form the office to their home life (rather than trying fill a void by stepping on anyone just to get one rung closer to the top). Help each other out with this. You won’t be successful loving each other and loving other unless you work together.

What are some of the observations you’ve made in life where you see love missing from others? How do we effectively show our love to others? Any other thoughts… comments… please share.