With the arrival of Spring in the northern hemisphere comes a time of change. The short dark days of winter give way to longer days of sunshine. This part of the world begins to wake from its death like slumber and come back to life again.
The Paschal full moon is the first full moon occurring on or after the spring equinox. The first Sunday after the Paschal full moon is determined to be the date of Easter. For Christians worldwide, this date, along with the week before, is a time to remember the death, burial and the resurrection of Jesus.
One of my new year's resolutions was to stay away from the negative news. One of the ways I chose to do this was to not read the daily newspaper, or at least not read anything with a negative headline. This goes for Facebook too. It has not been as hard as I thought it would be. In fact, it's really easy to just keep on scrolling past the "woe is me" and the "ain't it awful" news. (Thanks to author Pam Grout for the latter quote.)
Although I have been pretty successful at avoiding the doom and gloom, something has slipped into my grey matter that has given me reason to ponder. There is a huge big deal being made out of people's belief systems and people's life style choices. This isn't anything new, but it has gotten to the point that many believe we need laws to change the way people think. To me, that will never happen and smells suspiciously like brain washing. What puzzles me the most is this, what happened to respect?
If you do not believe the way I believe, I respect that and I'm not going to waste my time, or yours, trying to force you to see things my way. If someone's life style is not to your liking, or your belief system, that is your choice. If you do not want to do business with a particular individual or group, that should be your choice also. Yes, it may be considered discrimination, but so what? If a business owner chooses to lose revenue, who does that hurt?
On the other hand, why in the world would you want to do business with someone who does not want your business? Just because they believe differently than you, that suddenly gives you the right to label them? The very thing you say they are doing to you? Some will say it's an ethical issue, people should not hate. That may be true, people should not hate, people who are Christians especially should not hate, but trying to ramrod an idea down another's throat is never going to work.
In the book of Matthew, Jesus is giving out some directions to his disciples. One of the things He tells them is if they are not accepted in a certain home or town, shake the dust off and move on. He does not say to stand on the streets, holding signs and chanting slogans. He does not say to point fingers and condemn. He does not say to cast judgement and start a big rucus. Simply shake it off and walk away, respect it and move on. Also in Matthew, Jesus says this, and I'm paraphrasing, "Why do you spend so much time criticizing someone who you think is wrong when you do not see that what you are doing is just as wrong, maybe even more so. That's the speck vs. the plank verse and I believe it was meant for everyone.
Sometimes I think the biggest challenge that Christians face is understanding that God loves everyone, not just the Christians. Believing in Christ does not come with a certificate to be claimed at the check out counter to become judge and jury. He loves us, He respects us and I He wants us to do the same to each other.
Showing and having respect will get us much closer to understanding our mission here on earth and I believe it is time to put that word back in our vocabulary. If you need some help, do a search for Aretha Franklin and listen to her belt out R E S P E C T.
This Easter, let's remember the words that are so eagerly displayed in December. Not only remember them, but dwell on them and keep them in our hearts.....the reason for the season.
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