Just found this post at Catholic blogger Ann Barnhardt's site: Barnhardt.biz.
Two concepts: Truth and Fear
Posted by Ann Barnhardt - May 1, AD 2011 1:07 PM MST
First, I received an email from a gent who said the following, emphasis mine:
"I am in sales and have to carefully cultivate a vanilla existence. Controversy of my personal opinions does not serve me well."
My response:
Dude, the Truth does not SERVE YOU. YOU serve the Truth. His name is Jesus Christ. Figure out what team you are on and then either fight or get out of the way.
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Now, to the concept of fear. The one single conceptual thing that Jesus said with the highest frequency (by a long shot) in the Gospels and Acts is "Fear not / Be not afraid". Here are your citations:
Jesus saying, "BE NOT AFRAID"
Matt 14:27
Matt 17:7
Matt 28:10
Mark 5:36
Mark 6:50
Luke 12:4
John 6:20
John 14:27
Acts 18:9
Jesus or angels saying, "FEAR NOT."
Matt 1:20
Matt 8:26
Matt 10:26
Matt 10:28
Matt 10:31
Matt 28:5
Mark 4:40
Luke 1:13
Luke 1:30
Luke 2:10
Luke 5:10
Luke 8:50
Luke 12:7
Luke 12:32
John 12:15
Acts 27:24
People, the message of the Gospel in terms of how we are to go about our lives is NOT "be nice". The message of Christ is DON'T BE AFRAID.
THIS is why our culture and the Church are withering and dying. We live as quivering cowards, in terror of being defriended on Facebook or shunned in the breakroom at work. If your main concern is being "nice" and universally liked, then YOU ARE NOT LIVING THE GOSPEL. Period. End of story.
Yes, the church is dying because we are too nice, I've always thought that. WTH?
ReplyDeleteObviously missed the point there 2:28.
ReplyDeleteNo, I do get the point. One can have strong opinions with out being abrasive. Last weekend, I heard the saying, You can catch more bees with honey........... in reference to SOP, in three separate conversations.
ReplyDeleteThat's assuming we want to get stung...:-)
ReplyDelete11:24, I generally agree with the honey theory and practice it in my life. But it fact, honey has been tried many, many times over the past few years. Sometimes, it doesn't work. Sometimes, there isn't enough honey in the world to make a difference.
ReplyDeleteA diet of honey is not always the most healthy for growth. Too much sweetness does not allow for seeing and thinking about new and different tastes that may be healthy too. I agree that sometimes a voice may be abrasive and therefore the message gets missed or rejected. Speking always with "niceness" can result in the same. However, I would hope that we could hear the message and act on it. It took anger from Jesus before the money changers really heard his message.
ReplyDeleteOk I'll be sure to arm myself with these scripture quotes while I'm calling my friends and family fearful cowards and asking them for money for the appeal, great idea! ; )
ReplyDeleteGretchen has included many great quotes on the left side of the blog. The following is one of my favorites:
ReplyDelete“Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops like bishops, and your religious act like religious.” -- Bishop Fulton Sheen to the Knights of Columbus - 1972
I'm not sure what is so offensive about the post. Does it speak truth? Who asked anyone to call their friends and family fearful cowards?
ReplyDelete