Standing on Rock – Part 1

Have you ever apologized for saying something even before you said it? As though you wanted to be sure that the person was not going to take offense at whatever it is that you were about to say and then make some eternal vow to never listen to you again? That’s exactly what I had done in the first draft of this article, before I realized how obnoxious it really was.

In all of my experiences with people and discussing my beliefs, I have never once met someone who openly refused to speak to me simply because I called myself a Christian. In fact, exactly the opposite has happened, and I now have more friends/acquaintances from other ‘teams’ than I may have otherwise had. This upcoming series of posts is me stepping out and saying some things pretty loud and clear about my faith, and I hope that you’ll read and discuss them with me in the comments section.

Over the last week I have come to realize some pretty spectacular things about my faith that I had not understood before. I have been convicted and began to look at my heart and life in a totally different way than I had before. Unfortunately, it’s going to take a few posts to wrap up the entire lesson, but I’m sure you can handle it… you’re smart.

At the beginning of this new leg of life is a crazy revelation that I still don’t completely believe myself. This idea that people are generally good, loving and intelligent creatures, with a desire to learn and me happy with one another is pretty new to me. I’ll give you an example by what I mean.

Take a look at the first paragraph above, where I said that this article originally began with an apology. Some would say that I was going to apologize because of my low self-image or an underlying skepticism of the new convictions, but when I look into my heart and try to find out what that apology actually meant, I realize that it was created out of pride, not fear or no-confidence.

It’s crazy, I know, to claim that my self-esteem issue is actually just a problem with pride, but it is. In some ways, I was judging you and assuming that you were going to react negatively to my fundamental convictions because they differed from yours. I actually said, sub-consciously, that I had a better understanding of the Universe and meaning of life, and that you would reject it once you found out I was a Christian (because of your own ignorance, not mine –- harsh right?).

But when I sat back and re-read the words, “I’m Sorry,” it hit me that  most of you, if not all, would probably feel more respected if I just said what I believed and then opened the comments for discussion, rather than immediately grouping you with the very few close-minded people that populate this planet. You very simply are not those types of people, and I shouldn’t be treating you that way when I obviously don’t know who you are.

To sum my last few sentences up, I’m sorry for being judgmental of you and prideful (though I am not sorry at all for the other things that I’m about to say).

Hopefully, my ramblings are making some sense. Hopefully I’m not just talking garbage while I try to open this series of posts up. Hopefully you aren’t bored out of your mind right now (which you must not be if you’re still reading – cause if you were bored you would have stopped reading by now). Either way, though, I know these articles will be good for someone (even if it’s just me).

There are two major ideas behind the lessons that I’m learning, and it’s actually the second of these ideas that I’ve described learning above. The first is that I must spend more time in the presence of God through prayer and meditation; the second that I must learn to love and respect all people for who they actually are, not for who I assume they ought to be.

In upcoming posts I’ll share scriptures and stories to help illustrate the fundamental aspects of these new beliefs, and I hope that you will stick around for them with me. In the meantime, though, I’ll also be continuing with regularly scheduled posts about gadgetry, business and social media.

Are you up for some more?