Did any of you watch the Kiefer Sutherland show, "24"? If not, let me give you a short synopsis. Kiefer played Jack Bauer, a field director for a counter-terrorist group. Every week, Bauer would chip away at solving a terrorist threat. Each episode was one hour of the 24 hours. It was intriguing and suspenseful. While we may not be leading a coalition against terrorism (although many of us may feel that way), we all have the same 24 hours.
I am a (very) white girl with light eyes and blond hair. I grew up in an affluent primarily white community. Before you leave this blog because you think I am going to talk about race and are tired of it, be comforted that this is not the case. I am just trying to give you a little background and perspective. Even though I lived in this environment, I was never taught to see anyone differently than myself. I had friends of various cultures and ethnicities and some with special needs. I never saw any of that. They were just my friends. Until today. Today, because of things going on in our culture, I now see people for who they are on the outside before I see their beauty on the inside. I worry what people of different ethnicities will think of this light-haired white girl assuming they will think I don't like them because of my exterior. This breaks me but it doesn't stop me.
I recently watched a video a popular Christian blogger posted about our political spectrum. She claimed in this video that the Church as a whole has lost all credibility because of its political stance. She also incited that you may need to check yourself as a Christian if you voted a certain way because there is obviously something wrong with you if you did. She brought shame and guilt into an equation with Christianity: a place where it absolutely does not belong.
To say I was fired up and heart-broken over this video is an understatement. I gathered my breath and my thoughts and then I went to my husband. He asked what was wrong and I told him that I was fired up. He then proceeded to respond by not being surprised. He's known my for 20 years. He's accepted, well kind of accepted, my wildly passionate side.
As I combed through my emotions on the issue of racial, political, and religious divide, I came to the conclusion that we all have the same 24 hours. Unfortunately, we don't have an entire week to work out one hour like Jack Baur. But, when we wake up in the morning with breath in our lungs, the clock starts clicking away and we all have a choice to make: how will I spend this precious 24 hours for time is our most expensive commodity.
I can choose to show my admonishment of the things of the day by destroying property and shouting hateful rhetoric online. Or, I can choose to love and serve. I, personally, choose the later. What is going to give me life? Loving is. Serving others is. That's what I choose.
I will tell you one thing I do know, I can't see a greater victory for Satan than causing atrocious divide within the Church. He thrives in this space. He grabs a hold of our thinking, distorts it just enough so it still seems like truth, and sends us into the world armed and swinging. What greater way for him to get to us then in our minds creating division between us and those we love most. Nothing speaks volumes about the church louder than hate and hypocrisy. I choose not to partake in this. My 24 hours will hopefully look vastly different.
Choosing to love and to serve does not mean I sit on the sidelines when I see injustice. It simply means I choose to fight injustices differently. I choose to befriend those that think and look differently not because of their appearance and life practices, but because they are people whom I love. I will not let the rhetoric I am being fed that I am a white girl therefor I breed hate and prejudice be the screenplay for my 24 hours. Love and service are my script.
I have three incredible beautiful boys watching me and my husband. I used to get frustrated with my husband because his faith wasn't outward like mine. He's a very internal individual. I remember him telling me that when the boys get older, he wants them to say that they learned the most from their father by watching him in action for that speaks louder than any words we can speak. Man. Wow. He is so right. I want my boys to see their mama loving others regardless of political affiliation, church denomination, economic status, or appearance. I want them to see us thriving in our communities because we opened our doors and let people in.
The other day, my middle guy came running off the bus to tell me he has the "nicest friend in the world." He desperately wanted to go to this friend's house to play but we didn't have his address. We knew he lived in our neighborhood, but weren't sure of his house number. I had talked to his mom at our neighborhood movie night and we discussed getting the boys together. Friday night we heard the doorbell ring. Of course we had the same reaction as all us crazy Americans: Who on earth is ringing our doorbell at 6pm at night? It was this little guy's mama telling me that she was instructed by her son to come get my middle guy because they had planned a playdate. And off my son went. When he came home he told me once again, "my friend is the nicest person in the world."
You see, this friend doesn't look like my little red-headed, fair-skinned boy. They are completely different. But it didn't matter. They both decided that their 24 hours would be much more fun united in play than divided in hate. That wasn't even on their radar. They just liked each other's company.
This is where I reside. This is where my 24 hours will be spent. I will answer the door at 6pm when the doorbell rings unexpectedly and let them in because you know what? They are my neighbors and I don't care what the media says.
I will continue to love. I will continue to serve. I will continue to raise my sons to be strong but also humble. I will raise them to strive for their best while also being mindful of serving those less fortunate. I will teach them to encourage others and build them up, especially that kiddo that is sitting alone at the lunch table. They will play basketball and baseball and do well in school while also experiencing failure because that is life. But, at the end of my 24 hours, I will be much more concerned with how my boys loved and served than a grade on any paper.
We all have the same 24 hours. Will you use it to try and prove your rightness? Will you denounce and shame those who live, look, and think differently than you? Or, will you look at your tiny little portion on this earth and choose to love and serve relentlessly? There is far greater power in love and service than there is in hate. We may think we don't have influence on this world because we are just one more number on the chain. Oh, but I disagree. You have much more power than you realize. That one smile, that one act of service, that one word of encouragement could change the world.
Go out and love this world like no other today. Your 24 hours starts now. The clock is ticking.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
I am a (very) white girl with light eyes and blond hair. I grew up in an affluent primarily white community. Before you leave this blog because you think I am going to talk about race and are tired of it, be comforted that this is not the case. I am just trying to give you a little background and perspective. Even though I lived in this environment, I was never taught to see anyone differently than myself. I had friends of various cultures and ethnicities and some with special needs. I never saw any of that. They were just my friends. Until today. Today, because of things going on in our culture, I now see people for who they are on the outside before I see their beauty on the inside. I worry what people of different ethnicities will think of this light-haired white girl assuming they will think I don't like them because of my exterior. This breaks me but it doesn't stop me.
I recently watched a video a popular Christian blogger posted about our political spectrum. She claimed in this video that the Church as a whole has lost all credibility because of its political stance. She also incited that you may need to check yourself as a Christian if you voted a certain way because there is obviously something wrong with you if you did. She brought shame and guilt into an equation with Christianity: a place where it absolutely does not belong.
To say I was fired up and heart-broken over this video is an understatement. I gathered my breath and my thoughts and then I went to my husband. He asked what was wrong and I told him that I was fired up. He then proceeded to respond by not being surprised. He's known my for 20 years. He's accepted, well kind of accepted, my wildly passionate side.
As I combed through my emotions on the issue of racial, political, and religious divide, I came to the conclusion that we all have the same 24 hours. Unfortunately, we don't have an entire week to work out one hour like Jack Baur. But, when we wake up in the morning with breath in our lungs, the clock starts clicking away and we all have a choice to make: how will I spend this precious 24 hours for time is our most expensive commodity.
I can choose to show my admonishment of the things of the day by destroying property and shouting hateful rhetoric online. Or, I can choose to love and serve. I, personally, choose the later. What is going to give me life? Loving is. Serving others is. That's what I choose.
I will tell you one thing I do know, I can't see a greater victory for Satan than causing atrocious divide within the Church. He thrives in this space. He grabs a hold of our thinking, distorts it just enough so it still seems like truth, and sends us into the world armed and swinging. What greater way for him to get to us then in our minds creating division between us and those we love most. Nothing speaks volumes about the church louder than hate and hypocrisy. I choose not to partake in this. My 24 hours will hopefully look vastly different.
Choosing to love and to serve does not mean I sit on the sidelines when I see injustice. It simply means I choose to fight injustices differently. I choose to befriend those that think and look differently not because of their appearance and life practices, but because they are people whom I love. I will not let the rhetoric I am being fed that I am a white girl therefor I breed hate and prejudice be the screenplay for my 24 hours. Love and service are my script.
I have three incredible beautiful boys watching me and my husband. I used to get frustrated with my husband because his faith wasn't outward like mine. He's a very internal individual. I remember him telling me that when the boys get older, he wants them to say that they learned the most from their father by watching him in action for that speaks louder than any words we can speak. Man. Wow. He is so right. I want my boys to see their mama loving others regardless of political affiliation, church denomination, economic status, or appearance. I want them to see us thriving in our communities because we opened our doors and let people in.
The other day, my middle guy came running off the bus to tell me he has the "nicest friend in the world." He desperately wanted to go to this friend's house to play but we didn't have his address. We knew he lived in our neighborhood, but weren't sure of his house number. I had talked to his mom at our neighborhood movie night and we discussed getting the boys together. Friday night we heard the doorbell ring. Of course we had the same reaction as all us crazy Americans: Who on earth is ringing our doorbell at 6pm at night? It was this little guy's mama telling me that she was instructed by her son to come get my middle guy because they had planned a playdate. And off my son went. When he came home he told me once again, "my friend is the nicest person in the world."
You see, this friend doesn't look like my little red-headed, fair-skinned boy. They are completely different. But it didn't matter. They both decided that their 24 hours would be much more fun united in play than divided in hate. That wasn't even on their radar. They just liked each other's company.
This is where I reside. This is where my 24 hours will be spent. I will answer the door at 6pm when the doorbell rings unexpectedly and let them in because you know what? They are my neighbors and I don't care what the media says.
I will continue to love. I will continue to serve. I will continue to raise my sons to be strong but also humble. I will raise them to strive for their best while also being mindful of serving those less fortunate. I will teach them to encourage others and build them up, especially that kiddo that is sitting alone at the lunch table. They will play basketball and baseball and do well in school while also experiencing failure because that is life. But, at the end of my 24 hours, I will be much more concerned with how my boys loved and served than a grade on any paper.
We all have the same 24 hours. Will you use it to try and prove your rightness? Will you denounce and shame those who live, look, and think differently than you? Or, will you look at your tiny little portion on this earth and choose to love and serve relentlessly? There is far greater power in love and service than there is in hate. We may think we don't have influence on this world because we are just one more number on the chain. Oh, but I disagree. You have much more power than you realize. That one smile, that one act of service, that one word of encouragement could change the world.
Go out and love this world like no other today. Your 24 hours starts now. The clock is ticking.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
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