Thursday, October 20, 2011

It's my birthday

And I haven't posted in my blog for over a year and a half. But on my birthday, I darn well have a birthday request. You may agree with me, you may not. You may think, that girl wears entirely too many colours at once and is on the border of looking like a crazy cat lady. All I ask is that you read and comment if you are inspired to. I'll consider it my birthday present from you.

Please always stand up for what is right, even if you are the only one standing. This is a hard thing to do. No one wants to be that lone fish swimming in what may appear to be the wrong direction. But change only happens when individuals do something that is different than what everyone else is doing; why not let that crazy individual be you?

People love quotes these days. Guess what? The best ones come from life's little guidebook, the Bible. You probably know many Biblical quotes and don't even know it. Well, here is one that is appropriate to this blog post:

Don't look for shortcuts... The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life...is vigorous and requires total attention.
Matthew 7:13 The Message

For my fellow married folk, for those who have been married and for those who want to be married take note. Marriage is designed to be for a lifetime and shared between only one man and one woman for their entire lifetimes. Until you die or they die. Can this get any simpler or clearer? God created marriage, so guess what...if you're married, God is a part of that marriage. It was His idea, not ours. Marriage is not a contract, it is a covenant. It is the only relationship we will ever have that is a covenant, and it's not only with our spouse, it's also with God. It is not a joke and there is a reason that ministers of yore would say 'What God has joined together let no man put asunder'. This means that anyone trying to put a marriage 'asunder' has to answer to God; including those in the marriage and those outside the marriage. Why do we really attend weddings? The reason we should be there is to bear witness to the marriage and to hold the married couple accountable for their actions. By witnessing the day, you are saying, I support you guys getting married. If I see something going amiss, I'm going to help you guys out. Have you ever kept this promise to a couple whose wedding you attended? These days, most people think pursuing happiness is a good way to live. Some even believe that is their life's purpose. Most of the problems we experience in our world can be boiled down to one pursuit - selfish happiness. Oh, and a second one - laissez faire attitudes of those around the person pursuing selfish happiness. Are you in either category today?

Now on to the meaty part, loving another person. When you say you love your spouse, do you really? Do you love them only when they are good to you? What if they embarrass you or disrespect you? Would you love them regardless of their actions? The kind of love we should have for our spouses is not dependent on anything. It is all encompassing and keeps on giving even when you don't think you have anything left to give. Most people have 1 Corinthians 13 read at their wedding. Check it:

1 Corinthians 13

The Way of Love
 1 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. 2If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. 3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

   Love never gives up.
   Love cares more for others than for self.
   Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
   Love doesn't strut,
   Doesn't have a swelled head,
   Doesn't force itself on others,
   Isn't always "me first,"
   Doesn't fly off the handle,
   Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
   Doesn't revel when others grovel,
   Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
   Puts up with anything,
   Trusts God always,
   Always looks for the best,
   Never looks back,
   But keeps going to the end.  8-10Love never dies...
... 13Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

How hard is that? Near impossible, but go big or go home where love is concerned.

We recently lost Amy Winehouse to an alcohol overdose. How many of her friends do you think really earnestly tried to help her? That night while she was drinking in her room, do you think her security guards were unaware of what she was doing? They probably just said; that's just Amy, she'll do what she wants regardless of what we do. I've said something before and it hasn't gotten me anywhere except in her bad books.
She's an adult, she can make her own decisions. I don't have the right to interfere in her life. My friend, this is the biggest lie out there. You absolutely have the right to interfere in someone's life when they are engaging in behaviour that is harmful to themselves and others. The question is, will you? Will you speak up when you see injustice, poor judgment, the pursuit of things which are harmful and destructive...or will you just say, oh, that's not my problem. I don't want to make myself uncomfortable. I'm comfy and cozy in my little box, and don't want to bother trying to get out of it. These behaviours are indeed all of our problems, and  I hope that you all, my friends, will make a difference this year by being unpopular, not always saying the things people want you to say, questioning what people think is the right thing to do and just being different and having integrity.


So now here comes the really hard part. If you've read this all the way through, well done my good lady or awesome chap. But now, on my 35th birthday, I want you to ask yourself, who can I make a difference to today and this year? Who can I love more wholly and truly? Who can I help? And then, I dare you to actually do something about it. That will be the best birthday present you will ever give me.

1 comment:

  1. So true. When I'm teaching religion, I do drum it into my students' heads that we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers. Do I always behave that way though? If I am honest I have to say no. It IS that idea of feeling uncomfortable or feeling that it isn't my place that gets in the way. With my family, I suppose it's easier. I will work on that!

    I think the world at large has chosen to ignore or relegate to the past the notion of ABSOLUTE truths. You are so right when you say that the pursuit of selfish happiness is a BIG problem. The message is being sent (especially to our youth) that "...if it feels good to ME, then it's the right thing..." That's such a dangerous attitude. Everything is now so RELATIVE. It's like there's no north on the morality compass anymore.

    But that's what you get when you're trying to take God out of the equation. And, if He is no longer the center then...

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