Friday, April 24, 2009

What do you stand for?

I'm coming home from a leadership meeting with epic and I am overwhelmed with an emotion in which I can only describe as Frustration. What are we as men standing for?

A student shares about an event that happened this past week which involved himself and a friend hanging around a pool. They get into the jacuzzi and there are two other guys there. They start talking and the topic of Legal Prostitution in Amsterdam comes up. Our two students are flabbergasted and don't know what to say, so they just leave. Then he goes on to explain that as Christians we need to discern when it is the appropriate time to speak up. I'm thinking to myself.....DISCERN WHAT?!!? Is Prostitution not a big enough issue for us as "Christians" to take a stand and say...."Enough, we WILL not stand around while you disgrace women like that!"

Some may disagree, for example the people in that meeting, but I personally feel this is a huge problem, specifically Christian men. We are so concerned about making sure the other person doesn't feel offended, and treading softly that we forget to stand for what is right! There is no waiting around to see if the conversation can head in a direction where the Gospel can be presented. This is exactly what happened to Adam and Eve. Adam waited around too long to "see where the conversation is leading" instead of saying "DROP THAT APPLE!" We wait- righteousness and justice is lost. What are we standing for? Jesus in the temple with the merchants. Jesus didn't wait around or go around quietly to the merchants asking them to leave. Jesus saw injustice and He acted with Passion, Anger, Zeal, and opened a can on their ass.

When my life comes to an end, I want to say I stood for something. Justice, Love, Righteousness, Holiness, whatever. I just want to say I stood for something. What is life worth living if it is not lived by the moment, by each adrenaline pumping breath?

As a generation of men, and women, let us live lives standing for something. Dying for something.