"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." (Duet. 31:6) Standing up for principles are becoming more and more difficult. Being accused of various types of negative stereotypes can back us down into a corner. The answer comes in knowing when to stay silent and when to speak up. No one can tell you when either of those will be needed; it will depend on the situation. But, what is always true in all circumstances, never resort to the same name-calling with which others subject you. Situations in the news lately go from public officials being verbally chased out of places of business, politicians demanding that all people within a certain 'group' must be shunned and verbally abused and even have violence perpetuated against them, media personalities are harassed to the point of police having to intervene. These are not calm times, and they are not going to get better. Social media gives many the sense of feeling 'courage' to state any position or demean any person or group of people. This is not courage. Courage is standing vigilant and calm, yet stating one's position, preferably not on social media. How do we curb against the outrage that is so constant today? First, if the outrage is within oneself...check deep within your heart and ask for strength to step away from the outrage. Accepting situations is not a sign of weakness, the outrage is the sign of weakness. Second, if the outrage is directed at you, step away. Turn the other cheek. This does not mean turn the other cheek so that you can be smote on the other cheek, no, it means turn and walk away. Outrage cannot be dealt with, it cannot be reasoned with, it cannot be consoled. Walk away. Third, organize your day so that you have the needed courage to know what to say and when to say it...simply allow time in your morning for scripture and prayer. Two simple tasks that can take just a few minutes of your morning. One chapter of scripture a day is suffice. A simple prayer of thanksgiving and a plea for needed inspiration throughout the day will do. Simple words. Simple solutions. Now, do you have the faith to do the simple?
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Carolyn Bendall"After years of teaching people how to develop their 'outside' image; we realized the 'inner image' need just as much work. Let's take this journey together!" Archives
August 2022
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