Christmas time

It seems like over the last several years there has been so much focus on "political correctness".  Not wanting to offend any one in any way, not wanting to subject other people to other points of view, etc.  I'll be honest, I just don't understand it.  As I Christian, when I see someone this time of year, I always say "Merry Christmas", because that's what I'm celebrating.  I don't do it to be offensive to those who do not share the same faith as me, I don't do it to try and be rebellious against political correctness, I do it because it's what I do.  If someone of the Jewish faith want to wish me a Happy Hanukkah, I'm not going to burst out into tears because they've offended me at the birth of my Savior.  I'm going to smile and tell them thank you.  Thank you that you took the time to try and send me a positive message of your faith.  If a person that doesn't have a religious belief wants to wish me Happy Holidays, I'm fine with that.  I just don't understand why we can't all learn to be tolerant of each other.  We are all different people, all nearly seven billion of us.  Contrary to what many believe, diversity is what this country was founded upon.  Even those who are of faiths that I have strong disagreements with, I respect your diversity, and right to have whatever faith you choose. 

I saw a picture of a white egg, and a brown egg.  When I was growing up, Granny and Pops had chickens.  I always wanted to have the brown eggs, just because they were not as common as the white ones and it made me think I was getting something special.  But, once the shell was gone, it was the exact some on the inside.  There was a yolk and the white.  Just like in the white ones.  We threw the shell away but kept what was inside the shell, from both kinds.  We as humans are a lot like those eggs.  The outsides of all of us are different.  We're not all the same color, we don't all do things the same way, we're all different.  But, on the inside, I believe we are all the same.  We all bleed red.  I realize that there are mean people in the world, and they're mean for different reasons.  Maybe their past is dictating their future.  Maybe they've been brainwashed by a "religion".  But, for whatever reason they're mean, down deep, they're just like the rest of us.  They hurt, they feel pain, they have a desire to be loved, and it's my job, not just as a Christian, but as a fellow human being to show them just that.  Love.  

In my faith, and notice I refuse to say religion, love is the ultimate gift.  The reason I refuse to say religion is because religion is the root problem of many problems in our world today.  Religion is something that someone tells you about and all the accepted and unaccepted things of their religion.  Faith is a personal relationship with your creator, whom I believe to be the God of the Bible.  Faith is something that no one has to tell you about because you experience it.  For many years, I was a very judgmental person, and looking back I realize, and many times, regret it.  I allowed "religion" to dictate to me my job as a judge of other people and how they lived their lives.  But, when I truly found my "faith", I realized that I was spending to much time worrying about other people's religion, and not their faith.  For those who are searching, God can be found in so many different ways.  And, in whatever way you find Him, if that's your desire, I promise you, He will meet you there.  It's His love for us that makes Him so easy to find.  The Bible says that if you don't love, then God is not in you, for God is love.  It took me a long time, unfortunately, to realize how much happier I would be if I would love instead of judge.  Judging always put me at odds with some people, and I've found that loving, draws me closer to all people.  I'm not going to force my faith upon you and berate your for your lack of faith.  I'm praying that in the way I live in my faith, someone will have a desire to find that same type of faith.

So in this season of "love", lets all just take the time to smile at someone and wish them happiness, no matter who they are, what faith they're of, or where they're from. Don't be so mental and think that everyone has to do what you do, they way that you do it, and when you do it, just be thankful that someone is wishing you a good day.  Don't be so thin skinned and get bent out of shape if their greeting isn't the same as yours, just know that the meaning is what counts.  A meaning of love, joy, and peace on Earth.

on the last several days

You know, in the last week or so I have seen so much dissension in our country and it saddens me.  We have seen dissension within our country, within churches, even within families.  I can truly say that I don’t understand it. 

I don’t understand it as an American.  I mean, I don’t fly a Confederate flag because, in all honesty, it means absolutely nothing to me.  I have no reason to fly that flag.  I’m an American.  I’m not with the Union, I’m not with the Confederacy, I’m with the United States of America.  If you want to fly the Confederate flag, by all means, I think you should have that right.  It’s the American flag that gives you that right, and I have no reason to tell you not to fly it.  It doesn’t represent anything more than an old part of history, that I would have assumed our country moved on from many, many, years ago, but do what you want, it’s America.

I don’t understand it as a Christian.  I’m a Christian, and not one bit ashamed of it.  I’m not perfect, in fact I’m far from it, but in my faith, perfection is not a prerequisite, in fact, it is stated that it will not be achieved in this life.  I believe that we spend so much time hating people, groups of people, other religions, that we have lost sight of the fact that God IS love.  If you support gay marriage, I applaud you on your victory with the Supreme Court of the United States.  If you do not support gay marriage, well, I don’t really think there is much for you to say on this issue.  It's done, the court has set a ruling.  I have checked and the ruling from the Supreme Court does not mandate any person, religion, church, pastor, or organization to support gay marriage or homosexuality in any way shape or form.  If your church did not support homosexuality or gay marriage prior to this ruling, well, nothing has changed since then.  You still have that right, and I applaud you for standing for your convictions.  Now (this is where I’ll get the hate mail), if you support the gay marriage ruling, don’t be offended by those who don’t rejoice with you over the victory, they have a right to stand for what they believe.  Just as you have asked for respect for what you believe, I think it’s only fair that you extend that same courtesy to those who disagree.  Be clear of this though, disagreement does not mean hatred.  I have seen “Christian” people, and any more, I use that term very loosely, but I have seen them posting things, saying things, fabricating things that simply are not true and are very hurtful to people, and that is not the love of Christ.  Many who are doing all this bashing in the name of “religion” know less about Christ than most people who do not affiliate with any specific religious organization. 

I don’t understand it as a human.  You know, no matter who you are in this world, at the end of the day we all have pretty much the same basic needs.  We need food, water, shelter, and we all need to feel that we are loved.  That is exactly what God is.  In the last couple of weeks all the hatred spewed from so called “Christians” has baffled me, as well as people wanting to be treated with respect, yet they show no respect to others who disagree.  I have a lot of people in my life that I don’t agree with on many things, but we’re still friends.  We still love each other for who we are, in spite of our faults.  Why can’t we all grasp this idea?  If you choose to fly a Confederate flag, I may not agree with you, but I’m not going to deny you that right.  In fact, I’m not even going to tell you my thoughts on it, because we’ll probably not agree on things, but really, what difference does it make?  If I know that you fly that flag because you’re flying it out of respect for your loved one who fought and died standing for what they believed in, I’m going to respect you for that.  If you fly it because you’re a bigoted racist, who chooses to feel that people of different races are inferior to you in any way, shape, or form, well, we’re not going to be friends because I do not prescribe or associate with that thought process.  If you’re a supporter of gay marriage because you feel that everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, should be treated with respect and dignity, I’m going to respect your opinion.  If you choose to oppose a lifestyle that you feel is not compatible with your religious beliefs, and you do that with love in your heart and in the way you handle those situations, I’m going to respect you and your right to opposition.  However, if you choose to try and push a lifestyle on me that I don’t support, and treat me as though I’m an uneducated idiot that is inferior to you because I may or may not agree with you, well then, we’re probably not going to be friends.  On the same token, if you start land blasting someone with your beliefs and tell them that God hates them because of who they are, and start throwing scriptures from the Bible at someone, well then, you better get ready for a debate because I’m going to hold you to what your stating from a book you better be well versed in.  If you exude hate to someone, for whatever reason, I’m not going to be your friend and will probably try to avoid you like the plague, because in my opinion you’re diseased, and I know how quickly diseases spread.  I care not to have the disease of hatred in my life.

I guess all in all, after all this ranting, I just wish we could learn to respect each other. We’re not going to all agree.  The reason there are so many churches in this country, and many churches in the same towns associated with the same denomination, is not because the sanctuaries are full.  It’s because people do not know how to disagree in a Christ like manner.  So, instead of learning to respect and appreciate opinions that aren’t maybe the same as ours, we pack up and start another church….we see where that’s gotten us so far.  I think the thing we need to do is love.  Not as humans love, but as Christ has loved us. 

That’s all!!!