Stand Up and Be Counted

I have been attending the little church of my childhood for just about a year now. It is the church I was raised in and feel most comfortable in, even now as an adult. Many of the faces are new to me, but some are the familiar and kind faces I remember from so long ago-----the same folks, just older!

I have chosen, up to this point, not to be a "member". I don't personally feel that membership will make me a better person or cause me to participate on a deeper level and, quite frankly, having had some of the experiences I've had at others churches over the years, I don't feel particularly compelled to put my name on the roll of any organization, church or otherwise.

I suppose a favorite part of attendance for me is the early morning discussion in what is commonly referred to as "Sunday School". I've never really liked that term, but it is what it is. This morning I was reminded just how much my thoughts and attitudes about myself have changed in the last 20+ years. I used to be the kind of woman that kept her opinions to herself, especially the ones that might seem a little controversial or not in keeping with commonly accepted Christian thought. Needless to say, I'm not that woman any longer.

I must say that I do try to be kind when offering a different opinion, but I find I can no longer sit quiet when someone uses, or rather, twists Scripture to "support" their point. I was made aware of that fact this morning as I listened to a particular person quote Bible passages to try to support their stance on war. I am more sensitive to that subject than most, perhaps, because I have a son in the United States Army who has seen the devastation of war firsthand in Iraq. All that he saw, did, and heard will forever be a part of who he is. Naturally, this makes me loathe to say that war is an acceptable means of dealing with our differences with other nations. It is my opinion that war should only ever be a far out there possibility when ALL OTHER MEANS HAVE BEEN UTTERLY AND COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED!!! It should never be entered into lightly and it should never be seen as a panacea for the world's problems. War almost always creates a whole new set of problems and I truly believe the words of a bumper sticker I recently saw (I'm a big bumper sticker fan), "War doesn't determine who's right, only who's left.".

Getting back to my original train of thought-----should we be the kind of person who sits back and allows others to take the lead, even when their leading is based on false thought? There was once a time when I would have said, "Well, as long as it doesn't hurt me." I think it is always appropriate to share our thoughts and opinions when we are discussing spiritual truths. This is, in part, how we are able to form what we think and believe about various ideas. Sometimes I'm not entirely sure what I believe about something, but I sure know what I don't believe. It can often be through this not knowing that I arrive at a place of knowing. Does that make sense? And not speaking up actually does hurt us----in a big way. Being silent in the midst of wrong, even wrong thinking, turns us into people who are complacent. It turns us into people who become comfortable with looking the other way, with doing nothing. It is, I will say, the easier way, at least for a time. But suddenly, we may find ourselves on the receiving end of the fear and hatred that false thinking breeds. Then we find, ironically, it is very much about us.

Challenging wrong thought patterns and battling the injustices that follow close behind them, especially when they are being proclaimed in a religious setting as the 'will of God', and though we may often stand alone, should be as natural to us as breathing. We should read and study and reflect and then, we should think for ourselves, even when the thoughts we are thinking are different from everyone else's in the room. As Friedrich Nietzsche said, "The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself."

So I guess what I'm trying to say is this: I will never again be a person who sits silently when I know something is wrong, either in word or deed. I will not be silenced by fear or embarrassment or inconvenience. I will try to be kind, benevolent, and loving in my speech, but not apolegetic. I will be me.

"New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common."~~~John Locke