Why is it so hard for people to admit wrong? Pride I guess. We perceive it as weakness. We convince ourselves we're immune to making mistakes. Oh, sure, we can readily see faults in others but we're blind to our own "log" (Mt. 7:3). That's where I've found myself lately.
I have always been outspoken. (Everyone reading this that knows me has just uttered a "no crap" or "Duh...you think?" or "And the winner of the award for Understatement of the Year goes to...") Yeah, well shut it. This is my blog.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, Outspoken. Passionate. Opinionated. Bold. Even controversial at times. And I don't in any shape or form apologize for it. That's who I am. I think the world would be a much better place if more people would call "a spade a spade" so to speak. But that's not what this blog is about.
I recently posted a comment on social media that I wish I could take back. (Don't bother looking - I removed the post almost immediately.) It had to do with one of the many "hot button" issues our culture finds itself facing. I won't re-state it here for apparent reasons. First of all, posting it again would require another apology. And if you read it and were offended, you know what it said. No need to see it again. This blog is for you, and hopefully will serve as a friendly word of warning to the rest of you.
What I posted was wrong. It was crude. It was written in jest, but the subject is no laughing matter. Paul instructs us in Ephesians 4:15 to "speak the truth IN LOVE." Any words we say (or text, or type), no matter how true, apart from love have no place in a Christian's vocabulary.
I grow weary of today's Christians, in an effort to not offend at all costs - even if it means denying the truth. We tiptoe around controversial issues. In our effort to make Christianity more appealing, more tolerant, more palatable, more inclusive, we end up with a tepid, vomit-inducing version of the Gospel that benefits no one (Rev. 3:16). But the solution to this "limp-wristed" approach is not a "clenched fist." Christ offers an open hand...a nail-pierced one.
I read once of a pastor who was approached by a woman who had spread hurtful words about him and his family, causing much grief and destruction to his ministry. She admitted she had wronged him and sought his forgiveness. The pastor forgave her but made one request. He asked that she take a down-filled pillow to the town's busiest intersection, pour out all the feathers from the pillow, then gather them all back up. Of course the task is next to impossible. The wind carries the feathers in all directions. So it is with our words. Especially with today's technology, our words can travel the globe in moments like so many feathers.
Proverbs 21:23 states, "The one who guards his mouth and tongue keeps himself out of trouble." Words to live by.
Now excuse me while I go chase some feathers.
