Speak

Hey everyone!

Today, I was watching the Ellen, and she was talking about the interesting topic of anti-bullying. Before any of you harass me about watching Ellen, it was on TV, my mom and brother enjoy watching it, and I do like her personality, although we greatly disagree with many of her views. But anyway, she was talking to Madonna of all people about bullying (now, mind you, I really don't like Madonna at all). Despite my dislike of Madonna (for several reasons), she had a lot to say about bullying, and I must admit, I did respect her for her passion on this subject and for her taking a stand for the young people of America.

Madonna was talking about kids being made fun of in school and the increased rate of teen suicide due to bullying. I had to agree with her; she didn't say anything I would argue about. Even when she shifted the topic of bullying gay students and gay people across the nation, I had to agree with her. She is right: we are bullying this kids who feel different into depression, and even worse, death. That breaks my heart.

It is one thing to disagree with someone on their views and to tell someone they are wrong, but to belittle someone and make them feel less of a person is wrong no matter what we do. What sad is that the worst of the bullying comes from self-proclaimed Christians. They think they are taking a stand for something God would (and they are, don't get me wrong), but their delivery is all off. 

Jesus preached a message of love. The two greatest command are "Love God" and "Love others" (Matt 22:37-38, Luke 10:27-28). When Jesus came, He wasn't trying to make a political stance, He never initiated social reform. That was not His goal. He came to save the human race and teach them to follow God. He believed that through true love people would naturally change the world around them. So why aren't we?

It's okay to take a stand for God. That's what He wants: for us to stay true to Him and keep close to His teachings. However, we can become lost in the cause of Christ and forget the Christ behind the cause. Jesus was against homosexuality (although the Bible never explicitly says that, we can infer He was against it by the teachings of His closest followers), but could you ever see Jesus walking up to someone and belittling them because of their difference? Jesus never supported adultery, but He extended a hand of forgiveness to the harlot when He spoke of her multiple husbands. (John 8)

The point is: are you speaking in love while defending your faith? God convicted me the most on this, because, while I do speak passionately about what I believe, many times what I say comes across as an attack. I need to work on my delivery as well as you do, that way, we have a nation of committed Christians who are following God's message and teachings while still sharing His love, forgiveness, and mercy. 

So remember that when you are speaking to someone different than you. Don't see them as the enemy. Stop looking at them having the problem that you need to fix (because you can't fix it anyway). See them as someone with different views than yourself; see them as someone who believes what they are saying is right. Don't compromise you beliefs, but try to understand it from their perspective to see them as God sees them. Speak in true love; see the world through their eyes, but don't give in. Only when we see them as God sees them can we really make a change. 

Following His Call, 

Adam

(1 Corinthians 13:1)