Believe Manifesto

I want to start out with some truths before I approach this very hard topic.

Truth #1: Every single human being is a sinner. Every sin is different, but we all sin.

Truth #2: We all need the grace, forgiveness and salvation of Jesus Christ.

Truth #3: When things stay in the darkness, they remain dark. They take control of us.

Truth #4: We all need to show each other grace, forgiveness and human decency.

Today I want to talk about what some call hypocrisy but I usually call a double standard. The double standard is contradictory which in essence means that the sword you wield will also cut you if you aren’t careful. I want to discuss some of this, because I feel that many of us don’t know WHAT to say. We don’t know HOW to say it. So what’s happening is we aren’t saying anything and these topics are remaining in the dark. They are hard…but we have to start somewhere. And we just have to ask for grace as we do it. So I am asking God and you reader for grace today as I head through some uncharted waters with you.

Double standards:

We want to be safe, but we don’t want to treat law enforcement with respect.

We want to receive higher education, but don’t want to work hard once we have it.

We want to support homosexuals, but only liberal ones.

We want to stand for life of unborn babies, but don’t want to support them after birth.

We are against animal cruelty, but want free birth control.

We want to be nice, but only to people who agree with us.

We want to end the problem with race, but we want to do it with violence.

We want to stop the violence, but we stir the pot.

We want to stop rape culture, but pornography is everywhere we look.

We want to stop sex trafficking, but allow our youth to hook up on Tinder.

We want to let our kids be kids, but we give them iPads and iPhones when they are babies.

We want to be healthier, but it’s too much work.

The list goes on and on…I am going to stop there. Now, before you say, “Sarah, there is a log in your own eye.” Of course there is. Truth #1, I am a sinner like everyone else.

But does that mean we just give up? Does that mean that we don’t put forth effort? Does that mean we stop showing basic human decency and kindness to those around us? Does that mean we show no respect for our elders and those of authority? No. It means we take it one step at a time, put forth the work, make small changes, we do a little bit better every day. We do the best that we can. But we don’t do nothing. And we don’t keep these conversations in the dark. We find a way to speak these hard things. We find a way to build bridges. We find a way to bring these things to the light so they no longer have control over us and others. We stand for what is right, because it’s the best thing to do…not easy.

But you know what makes this all EASIER? God. Church. Bible. Community. Kindness. Grace. Forgiveness.

Today I challenge you to talk to someone IN PERSON you trust about a hard topic. Let’s work together to overcome differences, find middle ground and do what’s right. Then at the end of the hard conversation, let’s pray for God’s grace to make it easier. He is the light of the world. Let’s let him shine that light in all of our dark places!