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| What's so great about being polite? |
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Hello My Church Family!
This is my first blog entry, so please bear with me! Being very close friends with Mike Espey, I should be a near expert at this blogging thing but I'm a little slow! I love you, Mike!!
I often find myself alone with my thoughts with no where to direct them, but to the Lord, and sometimes to the corners of my car's interior!! And then it occurred to me, I can blog!
Recently realized something....I AM SICK OF POLITE PEOPLE! In our post-modern and some even argue, post-christian world, we are bogged down with concepts such as relativism, tolerance and lots of other -isms that I won't go into because quite frankly we all know what they are. We are told that this whole idea of Jesus is so yesterdays story and we need to move on to something real. Something that is for everyone. Something that fits into our own societal religion's idea of what is acceptable and for many, that isn't Christ.
When I say that I'm sick of polite people, I mean just that. I am surrounded by people who quite simply could care less about Christ. They know I'm a Christian and they know I'm about. I have witnessed to them in every direction that I can imagine and yet I get the same prototypical responses...."Oh, that's wonderful, Tracy, that you've found that way for yourself" or "I'm happy you found that to be helpful. I may not agree with it but I respect your path in life". And on they go with their self-directed lives. Its all so polite. So tolerant. So safe.
But, my dear friends, Jesus was not safe! He was not tolerant! And while he may have demonstrated some politeness, He ultimately cared more about the eternal security of mankind than He cared about people's feelings!
Over the course of my development, I have often been labelled as that judgmental one. Or as the one on a soap box. And so, over the years, I have backed off to such a point where I HAD become this safe version of the christian Tracy. Recently, I've caught myself doing this and I wondered, why? I must be ashamed of my Lord! I am ultimately violating: 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Somehow our society as determined that telling the truth is therefore judgmental or moralistic. What is wrong with being judgmental anyways? We make judgments everyday....who we trust, who we don't, whether something is safe, or not, etc. etc. So, I am learning to re-align myself with my loving yet bold faith, minus the safeness of it all.
Those who know me well know that I am studying to be a pastoral counselor. And I sadly report that this sense of polite, safeness has permeated that teaching environment to such a level that I find myself saying, "Huh?" or "Say what?" In this program, the political correctness is excrutiating. God is referred to "the transcendant" or "the other" or some other distant description of a revised version of who God really is. As challenged as I am in my higher education, I am proud to say that even on my weakest day, I KNOW WHO THE LORD IS!. I know that he is not safe. He is extraordinary. He is real. He is beyond our expectations. He is for everyone. He is more than we could express in human language. He is enough...for me, and every person who chooses Him as Lord. So, I conclude that even in my daily challenges, I refuse to be safe for one more minute!!
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| To add a comment to "What's so great about being polite?" |
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| September 28, 2007 |
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Hey Tracy, This is what it makes me think about: "then Jesus said to them all, if anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." We say, "what will I need that for Jesus, I want everyone to like me? Nobody's going to put me on a cross like that, I'm way to likeable. And I'd never judge anybody... I always try to focus on their good qualities, NOT the ones that might hurl them into hell, or at the very least, make them unuseable and ineffective for You in this world?"
Yes, we are pretty good at being in the middle, not hot or cold... just the right temperture; to the world! - - and possibly Jesus' would say, "bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me (Lk.19:27)." and / or, "so then, because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth (Rev.3:16)..."
So, would they yell crucify, or would they say about us what Peter answered? "Peter stood and warmed himself (not hot or cold), and they said to him, you are one of His disciples, aren't you? He replied, I am not! - Do they yell crucify or that you are not like Him, which? R... |
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| September 28, 2007 |
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Tracy, I pray you'll be most unsafe from here on out! Loving yet bold, polite yet firm and unmoving. You know, this topic has actually been on my mind lately too. I've long had this idea that if I LOVE my neighbor, really love them, you know - selflessly serving them, "blessing their socks off" as your husband likes to say, I can somehow charm their way into Jesus' arms. Jesus and the apostles didn't say we have to be offensive, he said the truth is offensive. "You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings..." Somehow patience and love don't seem to go with persecutions! So I think that I too should resolve to love folks, and then not shy away from sharing the truth!
I'm glad you brought your thoughts out of the car and into the blogosphere, Tracy! And a good start at that. Very convicting, and most worthy of a star! ~mike |
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| September 28, 2007 |
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R, great article on "righteous judgment"....that is precisely what I'm getting at. Judgment is not inherently bad so far as the motivation is in its proper place and we are listening to the Lord's leading on how He would like the truth to be spoken. Finding that right balance of boldness, grace and love, while trying to be effective--its quite a task!
Mike, great point on our attempts to try to charm people to come to Jesus. I think we forget that there is very little we can do that actually brings anyone into the kingdom, except by faithfully representing and speaking Christ to the world both in word and deed. It is quite a struggle for me to avoid this safeness but every so often I make small strides towards this holy boldness I desire. Thanks for the star!! |
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| September 29, 2007 |
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It is always a struggle to balance being relevant to the culture and being bold for our Lord. I tend to walk softly and when given the opportunity, speak boldly. Those boldly speaking times are few so they are times I must be ready with a word on my heart that can be heard. People today do look for someone that is different and they watch us. Even if it doesn't seem like you are making a difference, you are. You are salt in the world. Salt doesn't "do" a lot, but when added to other things, it always changes them.
Great post. It really made me think. Thanks. |
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| September 29, 2007 |
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| Thanks, Voice in DC! I tend to be the quiet one w/ strong opinions....they come out ever so often in large doses!! It actually took a very long time for me to get to writing my first blog (after being on my church for at least six months!!). Anyway, I agree that the key here is balance...knowing when to be bold and when to just be there. My point of this blog had less to do with boldness than it had to do with my frustration with our societial response to that boldness. One major goal in my life is to run from complacency and that is a major struggle for me. |
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| October 01, 2007 |
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| Great post Tracy! You seem like a pro to me! Keep em coming! |
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| October 01, 2007 |
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| Thanks, Sue! More are on the way, as the Lord leads.... :-) |
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| October 06, 2007 |
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Tracy, I was just talking to my wife and another couple the other day. I am just so tired of politeness or should we say fakeness. I want to so much for all of us in the Body of Christ to press on to the upward call of Christ, forgetting what is behind us. I pray that we would all live passionately for God in every day. I love the group called Everyday Sunday, where living every day of the week just like we talk about on Sunday. Just think of the great adventure we are missing out on when we compromise and live for the world when with the world and live for Christ when we are at Church. (Actually the church building). Grace and Peace |
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| October 06, 2007 |
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| Thanks, Brent. I totally agree that politeness is really just fakeness. Sometimes I would just rather my unsaved friends and family members just be straight with me rather than be so diplomatic!! Take care!! |
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