What do you stand for?

Ok folks, this post is primarily me ranting about my BIGGEST soap box, and is meant pretty exclusively for one audience: middle class, American Christians.  Man, do I have a beef with this group!  Now technically I fall within this group, so this is in no way meant to be an attack or an indictment; rather, it is meant to be a introspective look into bettering ourselves to make God look better.  Because that's what we're here for, ya dig?  (He is better, infinitely better, but to those who don't know Him, we are all they have...Lord help us)

Recently, there have been so many hot button issues revolving around social media, news outlets, and lunch time conversations.  You know the ones I mean.  I'm not even going to mention them here.  Believe me, I understand, (or at least empathize with) the heart of these issues.  I know that these issues stem from a place within people who truly believe they are doing the right thing.  And maybe they are.

But I can't help but think that we are missing the big picture, people.  You know, can't see the forest for the trees?  The way I see it, the way I've been taught, the way I've read and studied, is that we were given one commandment above all else.  Ok, well really, it's kind of two commandments crammed into one, but the bottom line is love.  In case you've forgotten, here's the gist of it: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself."

So, when push comes to shove, I think we're safe if we stand on the side of love.

Unfortunately, if you are not a Christian, and the only exposure you have to Christians is through what you hear on talk radio, what you see on the news, and what you read on the Internet, I'm afraid non-Christians have a very inaccurate view of Christians.  Why is this you ask?

These days, all I read about is what Christians stand AGAINST.

I think the world would know us better, and therefore, would know our Saviour better, if we did a better job vocalizing what we stand FOR.

Here's a short, simple list of the things that I stand FOR:
I stand FOR love.
I stand FOR life.
I stand FOR any opportunity to point people towards the love of my sweet Jesus.
I stand FOR the nations.
I stand FOR international justice.
I stand FOR giving when I can, and oftentimes when I don't think I can.
I stand FOR the poor, the widows, the orphans, the oppressed.
I stand FOR human rights, where not one soul is enslaved in poverty or sex trafficking.

Naturally, there are more causes and organizations and belief systems that I actively support with my time, my money and my prayers, but those are the big ones.  I'm writing these things into the void, in the hope that with time, more and more Christians will reroute their time, money and resources into positive, instead of constantly berating the negative.

I think that if we as Christians stood together for some of these issues, we would see more souls saved and less lives lost than simply arguing with people.

[End emotional ranting]

Food for thought: What do YOU stand for?