Care Enough to Confront

There is a time for compromise and a time to confront.

Compromising may seem politically correct but issues will resurface until given the attention they deserve.

In my early thirties, I blamed all my worries and miseries on others.  Nothing was ever my fault.

Raised by a perfectionist mother — an insecure woman who tried to live her life through mine — I was never good enough.

Domineering souls were my constant companion.  I didn’t speak up.  I tried desperately to please — until I was cornered on all fronts — by families, pseudo-friends, and coworkers.

I had a choice and a decision to make — die running or learn, grow, and heal.

After therapy and countless baby steps, at last, in my forties, I’ve come to embrace my entire being — quirks and all.

I no longer need others to validate my worth.  Truth, for me, lies in God’s word.  I can walk away from everyone except me.  I want to be able to look myself in the mirror every morning.

I’ve only begun confronting my demons (I’ll conquer them all someday — yeah!).  Jesus’ perfect love — His compassion and His corrections — continues to carry me through life’s ups and downs.

Martin Luther King, Jr., a man who acted in conscience said three years before his death, “If I choose to go on living by my conscience, I may survive five years, at most.  I could compromise my conscience and perhaps live to be 80.  Either way, I die. The one way I could simply postpone my burial.”

Will you compromise?  Will you care enough to confront?

Money Makes You Greedy?

Money, in my opinion, does not make a person greedy. Money magnifies the person’s true nature.

Give money to people with kind hearts.  They will use money to increase love and compassion ten-folds (see Jon Huntsman. The table of contents says it all).

The Bible says, “It would be hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:23).”

The Book also states, “The remark has led some to believe that rich people can’t enter the kingdom, and others to feel that Jesus was opposed to wealth and the wealthy.  But Zacchaeus, the wealthy tax collector’s response to Jesus’ call (Matthew: 9:9-13) contradicts both of these assumptions.”

Jesus demonstrated salvation depends on the mercy — unconditional love and forgiveness — of God, not on the merits or sacrifice of people.

If  God was a judging Deity, He wouldn’t have to tell us to go to hell.  Rich or poor, humanity (yes, we sinners) would already be there.

God also tells His followers,“Judge not.” (Matthew 7:1).  He was commanding grace toward others.

Jesus was saying, “Don’t blame or put down others while excusing or exalting yourself especially when you are not perfect.”

When we are called upon to correct others, we should act like a good doctor whose purpose is to bring healing — with empathy, fairness, and with a readiness to freely and fully forgive — not like an enemy who attacks. (Matthew 6:12, 14, 7:12)

I am often convicted by His perfect word.