I listen to a very interesting DJ on Air 1 every afternoon. By interesting I mean having unusual and bold beliefs. Hardly a day goes by where he doesn’t leave me pondering my faith in a way I never thought of before. I wouldn’t say I totally agree with everything he says, but none if it is wrong, I just wouldn’t stand behind it as strongly as he does. The other day, however, he sad something that I not only agreed with whole-heartedly, but that can apply to something in my life that’s been bothering me.
I don’t remember the story exactly, but basically he said that Christians shouldn’t be easily offended. People are always fighting over religious matters because they’re “offended”, have you noticed this? Especially around Christmas time. People are offended if you do or do not have a Christmas tree. They argue about Christmas lights. They even get into heated debates on celebrating Christmas at all. I love Christmas, and the right and wrong things about the holiday could fill a book, so I’ll not talk about it now. But the main point is, we are offended by the things other people do that we don’t necessarily agree with.
I’m one of those people that don’t really care about the things people do. If you want to have a Christmas tree, fine. If you like turkey over ham, fine. If you despise bacon, not fine. But it’s your life, not mine. When it comes to my faith, I’ll definitely stand for what I believe in, but I won’t force you to follow in my path. I’m not going to make you read the bible or go to church or pray. I’ll simply make sure I’m faithfully doing these things in my own life, and letting them positively effect the way I live my life and the way I treat you. It’s living by example rather than by force.
But back to the whole offended thing…Christmas is an awesome holiday for sure, but I always despise when it comes time to get together with the family, and I know I’m not the only one. I’m looked down on because I’m home schooled, because I’m not in college and don’t intend on going anytime soon, because I’m not super fit, and even because of my faith. I can feel my inferiority the second I walk into the door. I know none of these things are worth being bothered about, but still, it hurt to be treated like I’m not good enough, that my relatives are better than me because they do this and I don’t, and my years and years of spiritual upbringing aren’t as important as my education. I hate it.
Read my words again: aren’t I being easily offended? All of these things have benefits that far outweigh the things I don’t have. My schooling, for example. My awesome mother not only stayed home with me and my siblings for many years to school us, but now she works and takes the time to home school us because she wants us to be brought up without the pollution of the world. Nothing is wrong with public school kids, I know quite a few incredible people that were or are public schooled. But I personally would not have survived it there. I give in easily to pressure, I have an obsessive personality, and I’m curious. Just these things alone would have gotten me into so much trouble before I reached eighth grade. Instead, because of my mom’s choice to love her children more than her career or money, I’m being taught to use my flaws for God’s glory, to be easily pressured to love Him more, to obsess over Him, and to be so curious about Him that I learn more about His love everyday.
Never, never should I feel hurt because someone doesn’t approve of my faith. It doesn’t matter if it’s someone I love or someone I hate, I should never be ashamed of the Lord. I should never be offended because someone says something not so nice about my faith. Was Jesus offended when the people spat on him as he carried his cross up the mountain? When the people he was about to save called him names and kicked mud in his face, did he say to them, “I don’t like that, would you please take your anti-religious beliefs elsewhere?” No, he kept going, and as he was dying, he cried out to his Father to forgive them. That is the ultimate example that we should follow. When people don’t accept me because I pray before my meal, or because I refuse to engage in pre-marital sex, or because I care about the well being of others more than myself, I shouldn’t let it get to me. I shouldn’t hold it against them, and I should definitely not let it bother me. I’m not ashamed of Jesus Christ, and I hope you make this choice with me. It’s not the popular thing to do, but it’s definitely how we as Christians should be conducting ourselves.
I don’t give a dookey about what anyone else thinks.
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