As a Christian living in today’s world (and no, not everything is totally good or bad) I am daily reminded that what I see, read, hear influences what I think and do and as a result… who I am. This ‘observation position’ is something you develop, I don’t think one is necessarily born with this frame of reference. The next step, after ‘knowing’ what is occurring, which must come with a large dose of understanding, is what and how we respond to our world, I don’t think it’s an ignore-able nor an unknowable. And I also believe there is no insignificant response to what we see and know. It’s true – you are on display… at least to some. And there is no such thing as a no-ripple.
Many times what we see is in direct conflict to what we know. Now the dilemma of what do we do and how do we react to theses dichotomies that often result in conflicts. Again, ignoring is not an option. Each day we are challenged about who we say we are and how we go about interacting with the attendant challenges, opportunities, and conflicts. This is never easy. A very quick example: you try to be faithful to who the Lord is developing you to become. Faithful is a strong reaction and foundation. Therefore, it is the one area that will be challenge the quickest. We really do need to be alert because the challenges are not always seen as ‘wrong’. They can equally be times to confirm or refine what we believe and think. Maybe not the best approach but not necessarily wrong. Our society seems to be greatly marked by equivocation, compromise, and a foggy memory (spelled l-i-e)
How do you determine fact, fiction, real, imaginary – right, wrong? How can you be and act consistent? What standard will you apply to your decisions and actions? I do tend to be a black and white type – if it ‘is’ then you can’t simply ignore, you must deal with ‘it’ and the ramification from your actions. These are difficult questions and sometimes emerge so quickly that we can become blindsided. I do believe that as long as we act based on our knowledge and understanding, that we act faithful to who we are. The problems come when we attempt to ‘hedge’ our responses – that really isn’t truthful, it’s self-preservation even before we know if we need to do this.
Obviously, being true to who you are does not always result in acceptance by others – but at least they know where you stand and Whose you are. You also don’t have to wonder what you’ve said and to whom – your consistency marks you. Living in our world with all the noise, various opinions, clamors to influence what we should believe and do isn’t always easy… and can become extremely wearying. However, the alternative is not enticing and certainly not less stressful. Be you. Do what you believe. If you’re ‘wrong’ you can always change… but being tossed by every wind will only leaves you dizzy.
