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Anna on Attitude
I feel led to write this. I don’t want to. ‘Nuf said on that.
A while ago, this chick who subscribed, then left, then subscribed to me… she left a comment in my guestbook. It said, “I’ve got to stop subscribing to you, and I felt I had to tell you why: it’s because you claim to be a Christian and are such a bad example… you have a terrible attitude and you’re too defiant and nasty.” (roughly paraphrased.)
Now, I don’t care that she’s gone. I don’t. She didn’t seem very… *stable* anyhow, coming and going the way she did. But why would I want someone who doesn’t even…
Okay. First of all, I DO NOT identify as a ‘Christian’. Not since 2003. I’m a Christ-follower, but not a christian. Don’t lump me in with those other people. Half of them haven’t a clue what walking with Christ is about.
Secondly, do you REALLY think that people are all happy-happy all of the time? That they never show the rough spots, the troubles, the angst, the sorrow, the anger? Hello… Jesus in the temple, Jesus with the mobs, Jesus in the garden, Jesus turning over tables, Jesus weeping? It’s the people who DON’T show anything more than a sugar-smile that aren’t being honest. Would you rather I lied? I wouldn’t!
Third, do you really think that fighting the good fight can be done without SOME defiance? C’mon…! Why do you think the Pharisees wanted Jesus dead… why do you think the disciples were ALL tortured and martyred? Why do you think this chick took the position she did against *me*? ‘Nuff said there, too.
Y’know, I just had to say something about this. I don’t CARE if I don’t fit the mold you want me to fit. Or if I don’t measure up to the image of a Christian that you have in your mind. My goal isn’t to please you. And I’m sorry if that means you have to hitch up your skirts and your noses and walk away from this site.
But don’t ever think for a moment I won’t be true to my calling, to my heart… and to my Lord. That’s what I want to be about. And that’s all. I just felt it was time to state my stance. So. There it is. Have a great Sunday.
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JennyG
/ June 25, 2006:vvv: :vvv: :vvv:
tilltheend
/ June 25, 2006It is your journal. Thankfully we have the option of not reading those people who we feel so inclinded to judge. In my journal I post about those things I want to post about and if I step on some toes,so be it. :vvv:
tozhannah
/ June 25, 2006I do not believe that the luv people understand that they pay a substantial price for their peace: lukewarmness. Giving in to get along seems to be the mantra of the postmoderns. Therefore, those who have storng belief systems become suspects and objects of ridicule. And so it will be. As the neo-evangelicals line up with the one world religion of peace through concensus, those who hold to Biblical truth will be more and more seen as people to criticize and marginalize. I believe that the chick’s response to you says vastly more about her than it does about you. And, I for one, certainly do not agree with her. I greatly appreciate your authenticity and bold witness So, battle on!
Anonymous
/ June 25, 2006I agree with you that this is your space and you can write whatever you want. I also agree that as “christians” and as “Christ Followers” not every day is a bed of roses and sometimes that leaks over into our speech….however, as for me, I know that God is always calling me to grow as a christian…or “Christ Follower” and part of that includes presenting myself in a manner that is not counter productive to witnessing to unbelievers.
Then the question becomes this: Is there anything I could do different that would enable me to be a more effective servant of Christ? If that answer is yes and it is as simple as curbing habits like cussing then I believe thats exactly what God is asking us to do.
You are right that the bible shows us examples of Jesus when he was not at his happiest but when it describes such scenes as turning the tables in the temple it is also describing a scene where moral depravity had taken over the temple. Jesus was actually protesting such behavior as cussing and lack of self control and yet in the midst of his anger Jesus never acted in a way that was counter to what his ministry taught.
Anna, whether you believe it or not your prophecy research is a ministry of sorts. You are providing biblical information to people who might not otherwise ever hear it and those people are making decisions about Christ based on what they may be reading here on your page.
Theres nothing in the world wrong with having a bad day, theres nothing wrong with being angry or frustrated but there is something wrong when we repeatedly fail to exercize self control. All throughout the letters to the churches, again and again God is calling us to self-control and while you may have the right to say whatever you want is it really conducive to what God wants from you?
In Romans 7:15 Paul is concrened that even he seems to do stuff that he hates, I think the problem with your flighty subscriber is that from their own experiences your display of emotion over every day things is not in harmony with your biblical references.
Are we not all guilty of picking and choosing those parts of the bible that fit our need? You are right, it is your blog and you can write whatever you want, whenever you want however you want but when your blog is a huge point of biblical interest you must also consider whether or not the non-biblical stuff is getting in the way of Gods message through you.
Im not saying you shouldnt call a snake a snake or that you shouldnt just admit when your husband is bugging you, Im just saying that there have been times when I read your post and I thought it might have had a bigger impact had you refrained from the use of explicatives.
My own husband was reading your posts for a while for the prophecy stuff you gathered, because he is a prophecy person too but after a while he quit reading saying that your credibility had been compromised when you failed to practice self-control.
I had been reading your blog for a long time and it never bothered me, but for him it was an issue and in that kind of instance, I believe God is calling us to take the high road. If our speech is offensive to even one person and that one person is looking to us as an example then it is our job as followers of Christ to do our best to be “Christlike” as much as we can and weed out negative behaviors one at a time in an effort to always be working at being a better soldier for Christ tommorrow than we were today.
Cagey
/ June 25, 2006Seems to me Christ was most defiant in his ministry. The religious heads of his day probably thought he wasn’t very “Jewish” either. He didn’t fit in with their ideology.. and he shouldn’t have to. Be true to your heart, and be true to God, it needs no defense. Don’t let it bother you.
wondering04
/ June 26, 2006I value being real – and sharing from the heart. IMHO I love yoru site, and gain much from it. Your love for God comes out so strong here, and you are real. Does that person feel that God doesn’t know the dark sides of our nature, our anger, our fears. There is a difference in being real and blasphemy. God values being real and honesty, as long as there is a seeking Him component in it. And I really think that others value hearing about challenges, for they face the same ones if they are honest. And sometimes how one grapples with the challenges gives others a new way of looking at them.
Heather
Anonymous
/ June 26, 2006I’d rather have a friend who is straightforward and honest and maybe not agree with them on every point, than to have a friend who lies and puts on a *mask* and just blends in. Those are the ones who stab you in the back later and talk about you.
:nuts: Maybe she just wanted some attention from you. :bounce:
Wipe the dust off and keep marching! :kewl:
Anna
/ June 26, 2006Heather – My point exactly. Read Psalms. David was the man after God’s own heart… and half of the Psalms *aren’t* happy, bouncy, light things. There’s a hope and a joy underneath, but he says it straight: ‘I am surrounded on all sides, my enemies seek to devour me, I cry out in my sorrow and pain…’ Read Elijah – talk about a fiery character! – and God was so close to Him and found him to be of so much use that he never died!
Clarification: This isn’t about any person. It’s happened many times, and it happened a while ago, and who has done it and who hasn’t done it is irrelevant. It isn’t about her or him or anyone in between… it’s about me. I just want it clear, for the record.
Desert_Cat
/ June 27, 2006See, its this very thing that resonates with me. I know (strongly suspect) you’re real. Too many people exercise such self restraint that they become phony baloney plastic banana christians. God help me if I ever become so! The world, the unsaved, can spot that fakery a hundred miles away, and they’re repulsed by it. I’m not sure that makes such a great witness either.If I am to change/grow it has to be 100% the real thing. I will *not* hang plastic fruit on the tree of my life just to show how I’m “growing” in Christ, and most certainly not to measure up to some outsider expectation of what a “christian” is supposed to be like.