STAND TALL

      

STAND TALL

The Lord is involved in everything we do, including our choices politically, socially, and emotionally. When we voice our choices publicly, we better be ready to be criticized. Nobody craves criticism. It can be hurtful, but we need to learn to deal with it. It’s better to take a stand for something and be criticized than to remain apathetic and fearful. Even in olden times, kings respected strong enemies who were brave enough to stand tall for what they believed. God’s Word has a strong Word for those who He deems lukewarm:

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:15-16).

Wow, that’s powerful!  I used to be more afraid of offending friends and family, than of offending God. I wanted people to like me, and I didn’t want to argue or get into any debates where I had to defend what I thought. But after a while, I learned that no matter what I did, I wasn’t going to please everyone.  There are many adult children who are still trying to please their parents, and it just isn’t happening.  I was one of them.

Finally, in my mid-forties, I realized I didn’t have to try to please my parents anymore. The very middle verse of the Bible says: “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man” (Ps. 118:8). When I changed my focus to pleasing God, it was shortly afterward that my parents began to totally respect me as an adult person and not as a needy child anymore.

I was taught to be polite (which I think is a good thing), but polite became timid, and timid became fearful. I’m not fearful now, and you don’t have to be either. We can speak our minds openly and disagree. Paul and Peter disagreed about certain things, but they didn’t hate each other. They were loud and proud. I’d rather say what I think and be criticized than be lukewarm and have God’s opinion be that I’m too “milk toast” to even swallow!

Peter was a bold guy. He boldly told Jesus that He shouldn’t have to die. Well, Jesus rebuked him. But Jesus didn’t forsake Peter. He just corrected him, and they went on being friends. If we think that not voicing what we think is going to make us a better person, it’s not. We all have opinions, and God knows what they are. When we don’t speak them out, we might not even be fully aware of what we really think.

Putting a pen to our thoughts, or a voice to our thoughts helps us to articulate what we think. When we know what we think, we can either keep thinking it or we can change it. Changing what we think is part of growth. People change what they think all the time. There’s no fault in that.

But when our thoughts are fuzzy and unspoken, they aren’t clear, and they aren’t cold or hot. They become lukewarm like the Bible says.

Taking a stand, hot or cold, on what we think requires boldness. Boldness is a quality God admires. Just look at your concordance to see how many times the word “bold” is used in the Bible!

Let’s be brave. Let’s step out without fear and voice our opinions, not just mimicking or agreeing with what others think, but what we truly think. Our true friends will remain friends, just like Peter and Jesus. Right or wrong, we’ll find out later, which means that sometimes we are definitely going to be wrong. But so what? We’ll be right sometimes too. And don’t even think for one minute that you have to wait until you’re totally right before you speak up. The last totally right all the time person got up and out of here over 2000 years ago!

Stand and be grand!

Love, Carolyn