I hate when people say things like this. Makes me mad. Makes ME intolerant. I know plenty of people who "aren't right with God" and they live decent, helpful, good lives. They don't choose destructive friends; on the contrary, they surround themselves with positive people who enrich their lives. They nurture clean, happy, joyful, and fulfilled hearts and minds. Why is that people need to fit the mold of a certain religion, heterosexual, women in "their place" to be "good", to win the prize in the end?
Beliefs, I know.
I endeavor to be an accepting person. A lesson I learn everyday is that you cannot change others; you need to do that with your own life! Assist those you care about with their positive goals, and let things BE. I'm generally perfectly fine with both non-religious and religious people. I choose my friends (on Facebook too!) and therefore must accept them if I let them in my life. But when they judge others for how "wrong" and "evil" they are for not believing a certain way, I get frustrated.
What makes one person's beliefs right and another's wrong?
I think I'm just ranting. I think I'm just annoyed. I wish we could all just try to accept others instead of making them more like ourselves. I wish I could do this better!
So here I am, telling someone to be more open minded yet I am ranting about their beliefs. It's almost as if I can't say a single thing. If I want to be accepting, I must accept! Never ending cycle....
BTW, sorry for the rant.
People who say things like that are simply ignorant. Obviously you know where I stand on religion and my belief in God is a huge part of my life. However, I cringe when I read things like that because those people don't know the true meaning of being a Christian. And they don't realize how their words may cause more people to turn from a belief in God. The Bible says be wise as a serpent but gentle as a dove. That person seems to have forgotten those words.
ReplyDeleteYou are so smart:) Glad you are my big sister.
ReplyDeleteI cringe too when I read things like that and should just pass it by but today I didn't. Oops!
Love this post. As my life broadens and grows, I'm having to come to terms more and more frequently with the sayings/thought patterns that surrounded me growing up. What is right, what is wrong, what is tolerant, what is intolerant. What is lovely ... think about these things, Chris! It's too easy for me to get frustrated with people I see as still trapped in a narrow mindset. But then I have to remember that there are still things I can't see, and someone is probably waiting for me to come out from under my rock as well.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking about this post all day. (Don't you feel special? :)) This idea of tolerance is so complicated. Can I really be tolerant of other's views when I find them distasteful? Even scarier thought- how do I teach my kid tolerance while at the same time teaching her right from wrong? No answers, just questions.
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