The Truth About Pins.

Safety pins. I'd don't think they were intended for political purposes. Neither is this post. I think there's merit and corruption in both parties. What I don't see, is honestly about lawlessness, inequality, racism, or  greed in our citizenship. So, I'm not picking on a party or anyone. It's the behavior I'm calling out. We shouldn't ignore it if it's unproductive. We shouldn't reward it if it's bad. We should stop it if it's wrong. All of it should be analyzed. You have to admit, there's irony in college students wanting to draw an imaginary ring on a campus for a "safe place" while condemning those who want a wall around the country. Education has never been a replacement for common sense or intelligence.

Who knew, safetypins would become a national political symbol? Why not firing pins or hitch pins or hair pins? How about we make our symbol, bowling pins? That way, they could roll over us and knock us down. They'd like that, except ,we'd always stand up again. 

Symbols are overrated. They go to or over our heads. Before you start using one, you might want to research it .Apparently, some people are now wearing a safety pin as an indication they are a safe person to talk to following a tight presidential election having no idea the symbol has been hijacked. Research it. It has multiple meanings. Most of the rest of us had no idea talking in America was so dangerous. As long as you don't mess with our stuff, most of us are safe to talk to. If we are honest, we are kinda thinking, maybe it's pointless to talk to those wearing safety pins. Don't tell anyone, but up until last Tuesday, America was unified  and everyone, not wearing safety pins, agreed on everything and were safe to talk to. If reality was a hotel, it would be in a ghost town. You can't have this much diversity without some division. Here's the truth, when two people are in perfect agreement, the opinion of one of those persons is no longer warranted. You can learn lots from people you don't agree with, but you'll have to leave behind your sensitivity. 

The Bible teaches 

Faithful are the wounds of a friend;

profuse are the kisses of an enemy. Proverbs 27:6

Everyone, who tells you exactly what you want to hear, isn't your friend. Often, those who love you the most will do the complete opposite. If you don't recognize this experience, you are either oblivious or sheltered. Society can't wait for you have the pleasure of removing a knife from your own back and the revelation it was left there by an enemy you thought was your friend.

We live in a country where, at least for the moment, you have rights.

Under the First Amendment, freedom of expression affords you have the right to act like an emotional train wreck, who can't take defeat. You have the right to exude weakness or coddle it. You have the right to exaggerate the truth, or ignore the truth. As long as you're not under oath, you have the right to lie. You have a right to believe a lie. My personal favorite is there's more than one truth. It's the most popular. The rest of us have the right to call it like we see it. In other words, we have the right to speak something that is offensive. It's quite easily done, just slip up and praise Jesus or say something remotely patriotic.

I have the right to love anyone I choose. We can love someone we disagree with. Ask any parent parenting. Love doesn't, ignore, sugar coat, or exaggerate truth in life lessons. Oh, it might in the niceties of trivial questions like " How do I look?" But, it doesn't lie in matters essential to survival. So I'm saying this in love, but some are likely not going to like it .

The truth is so brutally honest, many times, it's dangerous. It's pointed. It pricks you in the heart. Everything a safety pin doesn't do. But a safety pin, it's cute and relatively safe. Like the blue pill from the Matrix. (Funny the symbolic colors and nature of those red and blue pills. Walking in a comfortable alternative reality, you take the blue pill. Walking in truth, you take a red pill.... hmmm. But I digress) Anyway,  the problem is the truth ain't, so much. Pretty, that is. Often, it's ugly enough people turn away from it. 

It happens to the best of us. Literally. It happened  to Christ. I'm reminded of these words from John chapter 6.

"After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him"

It wasn't the Pharisees that left. It was the disciples. 

Why? Go read chapter 6. Because He told the truth. He called people out in their motives. They took offense. In verse 61, He calls them on their offense and gives them more truth. The all knowing God of scripture, knew they would be offended at the truth, knew they would leave, ahead of time, and he said the truth anyway! The inventor of love, did not coddle their emotions, change his approach, his tone, the message, the word, or anything to make them stay. He didn't backtrack,  he moved forward without those uncommitted. He did not intentionally offend, but it was the truth. It needed to be said. And love doesn't lie. He is the way, truth, and the life.

You can sacrifice the Truth. Though, it will take something bigger than safety pins. You'll need hammers and nails. We've  done that already, and God hijacked their symbol of death, turning the cross into a symbol of life. There's only one way to know the difference between the real thing and a knock off. Inspection.Symbols have never been more than those displaying them. That goes for name brand goods, safety pins, or the crosses adorning necks or on towering steeple of a church. Maybe, it's time to respond to the Truth differently. Maybe, it's time to do like twelve men did with the truth . Walk with it and change the world. It wasn't safe for them. It won't be safe for us. Do you love enough, to be offensive as Christ?

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What Can You Tolerate?

In my own opinion, I'm a person who tolerates a lot. I'm not sure exactly what I'm comparing myself to but it's what I feel. Even when the world tells me that I'm not, I still believe I'm normal. If I'm not normal, can we still be friends? I need to come out of the closet and tell you what I really am. I'm a bible believing Christian. Can you tolerate me? Can you accept  me and my worldview without asking me to conform to yours? If I believe we traded holiness for tolerance and that we should return to holiness, is that a problem? Can I tell you all these things about myself and you still love me? You can be just as tolerate as I can? Great. I want to know, if I try to "change attitudes", like Family Equality does, will it be ok? I need you to know the truth. We both can't be normal. We both can't be right. Do you still love me?

We lost this nation, not to political correctness, but to Christian apathy.  Though there never will be a political solution to a spiritual problem, churches tolerated liberal agenda. Social programs replaced Christian charity. Wolves in sheep's clothing moved in and we let them. If people were looking for love in all the wrong places, then we didn't give them anywhere else to look. Many pastors void of spine and guts refused to tell the biblical truth from the pulpit. It's much easier to point fingers or turn a blind eye than bandage wounds. Parishioners tolerated it because it felt good. Homosexuality became the scape goat to atone for greed, gluttony, and sloth. Likewise too many pastors and parishioners couldn't or wouldn't sit with someone at the well, like Jesus did, and make friends. It's there Jesus has the opportunity to show faults with no one around. We gathered with our stones forgetting the words "neither do I condemn thee". So, they never hear "go and sin no more". 

All sin is selfishness. All sin breaks commandment número uno. That makes you into your own God. It's why picking fruit we are not supposed to equates to murdering the entire human race. That's what makes sin equal. It's why my sins are just as big as yours. It's being disobedient to God. It will damn us unless Jesus is our God. 

There's nothing God loves more than sinners. There's nothing God hates more than our sins. If you think about it, that's the way you'd want it. Otherwise, He'd left us in our sorry state without hope. In regards to your sins "neither do I condemn thee" because I am a sinner, I got no stones. For throwing that is. I will condemn sin, not sinners. Starting with my own.  There's plenty of sexual sin on my conscience. Jesus paid for all of them. We shouldn't willfully give into our sinful desires if we are trying to please Him. According to the bible, homosexual behavior is a sin. So are plenty of sexual things I've done. I'm sorry we made light of our own sins. I'm sorry we somehow ungraciously overstated yours. Both were/are sins. Whatever your sin, well that's between you and God. Not loving you enough to tell you the truth, would be between me and God. Allowing this nation to sin as a whole will be a collective problem. We don't have to agree. I love you more than our friendship.

If you're demanding I take notice of any sin and call it normal, that's sinful. 

 It's hard for me to sin and flaunt it.  At least, I hope it is. Pride in sinful activity is like doubling down on God's grace. It's too much of a gamble for me. Call it judging it you must. Maybe you're right, it's just I'm not going to argue with God about it. Not some God I made up. The God of the Bible. Not some version of God you created that makes you and I feel better about our sins. God followers never have been winners in a popularity contest. Especially these days. Just because you want to be in something sacred and holy, doesn't mean you are. Something about carrying your own cross, isn't appealing. It might mean crucifying your selfish desires for holiness.

What should scare everyone, regardless of their opinion, is how one sided the ruling is. Is this really how you want to have society determine things? Shouldn't we have the ability to define somethings and set limits on what makes them qualify as such? Or should we sacrifice everything to be tolerated?