Thank You
Do you ever feel like you're all alone in something? Has there been a time, when you have single handedly had to defend a view, against a whole room of people? It doesn't even matter who is right or wrong in the end; at least not for the purposes of this discussion. It just this question...have you ever had to defend a view that you knew was not going to be popular and would probably be misinterpreted and misconstrued. You could keep your mouth shut and peace would follow, or you could pipe up, and blood pressures would undoubtedly rise.
Well, it seems that I am in this predicament frequently. Granted, it has not always been done wisely. That's part of the problem. And I haven't learned well how to choose my battles.
But I'm still on this thing about improving self instead of casting stones. So when I'm in a class where that is what we seem to be doing, I start bristling and want change the focus. With God's help, maybe I'll get more gracious in this regard. Maybe that's what He has planned for me for this 6 months we been planted in California. How to tread more gently and season my words with grace.
At any rate, I was given a gift today. Actually two. One from my own 15 year old son and the other from my nephew. My own child is a typical teenager...his goal at this point in his life is not necessarily to build his mother up. So any time he does that, I'm thankful. These two teenagers gave me words of encouragement, which, after the class discussion I had participated in, was like receiving a Big Gulp on a hot summer day.
It made me feel like I'm not necessarily out in left field by myself. So today, I'm saying thank you to Derek and Brandon. Next time bring your ball glove.
Well, it seems that I am in this predicament frequently. Granted, it has not always been done wisely. That's part of the problem. And I haven't learned well how to choose my battles.
But I'm still on this thing about improving self instead of casting stones. So when I'm in a class where that is what we seem to be doing, I start bristling and want change the focus. With God's help, maybe I'll get more gracious in this regard. Maybe that's what He has planned for me for this 6 months we been planted in California. How to tread more gently and season my words with grace.
At any rate, I was given a gift today. Actually two. One from my own 15 year old son and the other from my nephew. My own child is a typical teenager...his goal at this point in his life is not necessarily to build his mother up. So any time he does that, I'm thankful. These two teenagers gave me words of encouragement, which, after the class discussion I had participated in, was like receiving a Big Gulp on a hot summer day.
It made me feel like I'm not necessarily out in left field by myself. So today, I'm saying thank you to Derek and Brandon. Next time bring your ball glove.
posted by Kaye @ 2:34 PM
2 Comments:
At 10:04 PM,
Anonymous said…
Kaye, wouldn't it be great if God had a way for all of us to 'polish' each other and get all the rough edges off without the inevitable rise in blood pressure? But, when the Bible talks about 'iron sharpening iron' one definitely gets the idea that sometimes love requires difficult words to be said. I learned the art of the gentle question from you in the Bible studies you taught. Thank you, Kaye.
At 3:23 AM,
Anonymous said…
In college I often ended up in some heated discussions. I in particular remember a discussion we had on ethics. Most of my classmates believed that there are no moral absolutes and that morals/ ethics evolve as society evolves. I argued against this believe and of course stood pretty much alone with my opinion. Many would say that it is better to be quite, because when you are not, there can be repercussions for your unpopular views, such as bad grades from your professors. I took the risk anyway, because I felt that people made these arguments based on nothing solid, but just their 'feelings.' I thought if I could help them see another side of this issue that they might start seeing what utter nonsense they believed in. It is interesting how when you do take an unpopular stand that sometimes you do get 'rewarded' for it. It turned out that my professor is Christian as well and toward the end of the class commented to the class that he completely agreed with me and that he was of the same view.
I say it is good to speak up and I agree with you, Kaye, that it must be done respectfully and with grace. We should be less concerned about being afraid what others might think, but we must be more concerned about speaking the truth and being a light in this dark world. It is not a pleasant task at times, but Jesus was rejected by this world and He promised that we would be as well.
Alex
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