It's Personal

It's Personal

1 John 3:18(NIV)
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth

Think about certain things in life; issues or topics that sometimes can be heated or we can be very opinionated or judgemental about and how they change when all the sudden they affect us personally:

-We are against homosexuality, until our son or daughter or brother or sister comes out of the closet and all the sudden our stance changes.
-We are dead set against divorce until that family member or loved one goes through it, then all the sudden it's hard to be so damning.
-We blame parents and think it's disgraceful when I teenager or unwed girl gets pregnant, until it happens to be our daughter or our son who does the deed, then it's a mistake or could happen to anyone.
-We badmouth addicts who are drunks or druggies and the people who enable them until it's our parent or best friend.

My blog isn't about these issues in particular I am just using these as examples, you can pick any subject or hot button topic of the day, but the bottom line is we are very hard-headed and stubborn about our beliefs, convictions, and opinioins, until all the sudden it affects us, hits a little too close to home, or we become personally touched by whatever situation or issue it might be.

What changed?  What changed is it's easy to be against something, to take stand for something, or be vocal about a subject until it becomes personal.  When you mix in emotions or feelings toward a loved one or friend our viewpoint suddenly shifts because all the sudden it's in my life, it's in my family, it's happening to my loved one.

Had God's word changed?  Has society changed? Has our morals or values changed?  The truth is me and you change based on our circumstances, becuase it's personal. It's easy to bad mouth someone elses problems, or be judgemental of a stranger, or take a stand against an unknown enemy, but when all the sudden the issues affects my son, my daughter, my parents, my aunt, my nephew, my best friend, etc...then no matter the issue, our emotions and feelings for that person take over and it changes my stance, my opinion, my view, not because I've discovered a new truth, or educated myself, or had positive discussions, but because it became personal.

The fact is, no matter the subject or topic, if it's wrong in God's word, it's wrong, it doesn't matter who or what it affects.  Truth is truth, and no matter the issue, if we have to lie or be dishonest to protect someone we "love", we aren't really loving them.  I know this may be hard to swallow for some and others may disagree with me (it's ok, you can), but we can still love our family and friends and not agree with their choices, their lifestyles, or their decisons.   We can support them, or help them, or love them without giving approval, enabling them, or lowering our standards, morals, values, or even our faith.

When it's all said in done what God says matters most on any subject or topic.  If you don't believe in God, or want to change or manipulate His word to fit your situation then that's between you and God, but even changing that, won't change the ultimate outcome.  God is God and we are not.  His Word last forevers and we change our views and opinions like the shifting sand as soon as it become uncomfortable, doesn't go our way, or affects us personally.

Again, please understand this blog is not about divorce, teen pregnancy, gay rights, drug abuse, addictions, or any one topic, the blog is what do you do when something in your life hits home and affects you personally.  Do you bow down to peer pressure, do you look the other way, do you justify or make excuses, or sacrifice truth for a lie or right for wrong, or do you realize you can still love your family and friends even when you don't like or agree with their choices or problems.

Something for us all to think about, we live in an ever changing world, where ethics have become situational and morals have become relative to the individual, (world's standards, not God's) but that doesn't change truth, rightness, or God.    Most of all we need to take our faith personally no matter the subject, topic, situation, problem, or how close it hits to home or how personal it becomes with a loved one, and remove the feelings and emotions and realize you can still love someone and not compromise your own values or beliefs or faith if we are willing to work through it and stay open to God's leading and direction and overcome the temptations and distractions that the devil can throw at us.  Love people, not their sins, problems, or choices.  Accept them without accepting those things you cannot with a good conscience or heart accept.  I can love someone without accepting their bad decisions, opinions, choices, or lifestyles.  My relationship and love for them doesn't change, we can choose to love and disagree and in matter of need, we can help them and support them.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5(NIV)
⁴ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.