Enough is Enough. Our Words Have Too Much Power!

Recently, there seems to be a re-exposure of the ways our culture still has a lot of growing up to do around gender, sexuality, and basic lines of personal responsibility in relationships. Not that it every really went away, but these things tend to wax and wane.
It’s becoming apparent to me that reading random blogs and scrolling through posts on Facebook can be dangerous to one’s mental health. Increasingly, silence seems less of an option. So in my own random way, across a number of topics, I offer this:

“No,” means “NO.” Always. There’s no wiggle room here. There’s no way you can have any expectations. No way can you justify yourself. Just “No.”

Your bad behavior is your fault. Always. It’s not someone else’s fault. Your choices, your decisions – are yours. They are your responsibility. Don’t point the finger at her as a way to get off the hook. If you buy dinner or spend an evening with someone – do you know what you are entitled to? Nothing! That’s all. Every time. No exceptions.

Gentlemen, If the way a woman dresses causes you to lust, you have to deal with your problem. Not her. She’s not the problem. Every discussion I’ve read [Every. One.] about “modesty” and “appropriateness” in the church talks about what women wear and how they dress and says nothing about men and their “modesty” and “appropriateness.” The message is clear: women are temptresses and lead men to sin. That’s just wrong-headed. Gentlemen, check your heart and guard your thoughts. You have a problem. And she is not the problem.

Gay, fag, and other slurs aimed at LGBT people are wrong. Always. Whether you agree with "the lifestyle" or not. They are wrong. Always. Your disagreement doesn’t give you the right to be abusive and act like a jerk. Especially (and in my circles that’s a lot of you) if you call yourself a follower of Jesus; you don’t get to be a jerk. You have a higher calling than that.

These same words often get used by straight people as derogatory terms for each other – sometimes even between friends in a “we’re just kidding” kind of way. This has to stop. It’s wrong. Always. It’s just another backhanded way of being demeaning and degrading to people. Jesus never treated anyone as less than fully human and worthy of his deepest love and care. We need to do the same.

Enough is enough. Our words have too much power to speak them so carelessly & viciously. Now is the time to aspire to something better.
 

~Godspeed