Taking a stand ... with grace

This picture of Laura last summer always makes me laugh ... and I need to laugh right now.

It's Wednesday night and I've had a rather stressful evening. So I thought I'd skip the research for tomorrow's blog and just write for awhile. Mostly, I want to address the issue on my mind. Extremism. It's bad stuff, folks. Extremists rarely win people to their side, no matter what side it is. Extremist are generally a bunch of close-minded people who do not understand much about grace.

I have strong opinions. About a lot of things. I don't think you should kill an unborn baby. I don't think you should litter. I believe people should care enough about their children to use cloth diapers. I dislike when cigarettes are smoked around children ... or anyone, for that matter. I believe in people being married before they live together. I could go on and on. Couldn't you? Don't we all have strong opinions? But if we all took extreme stands all the time, what would happen? Well, first of all, we wouldn't be liked by many people, except, of course, like-minded extremists.

I believe, as a Christian, my first responsibility is to introduce others to the love of Jesus. Can that be done in an extremist stance? Of course not. Shoving Christ down someone's throat will not increase the Kingdom of God. It just doesn't work.

And it doesn't work for other causes either. So, if you are one to take an extreme right-wing or left-wing stand, consider listening to someone else's opinion. We don't all have to be right all the time, do we? After all, that is impossible. And while you, or I, may think we have all the answers, the bottom line is, we don't. We just don't.

To pepper our words with grace does not weaken our stand, it just makes it more inviting for someone else to hear our words. To actually listen to what we have to say.

That's all I wanted to say. So, as I sit on my porch with my feet soaking in cool water with a half cup of apple cider vinegar mixed in, I'm breathing a little easier. I almost got sucked into an extremist-motivated argument tonight and opted to bow out ... gracefully. For that, I'm thankful to the God who has humbled me and shown me what is really important. Plus, I got to share my feelings here in the shelter of this community. For that, I'm thankful to you. As we all work our way through this journey, let's show a little kindness. It goes a long way.

Sharing my heart,

Hana