Hopefully by now everyone knows who Todd Akin is and what he said. If not, here is a link (this provides the information from the day of the statement as well as the events there-after his statement).
Todd Akin claimed if a woman is raped her body will not allow the reproductive organs to work, therefore not allowing her to produce children from the attack. He said that this was only true during a "legitimate" attack. He has now gone back on what he said and recognizes that this is not biologically possible, however, he actually believed this. The fact that he said this in an interview, not knowing the statistics proving him incorrect - well, that just makes him ignorant. Ignorance is not necessarily blissful when looking at it from his stand point. At least not as of late. Being ignorant of a speed limit and ignorant of our own biology, those are two completely separate things.
Today, I sent an email to two friends. Both have worked in our office at one point and time. The email had a picture of Rep. Akin and written across it read, "If you get shot, and it is a legitimate shooting...then the body has ways to automatically seal the bullet hole, kind of like Wolverine". This is ridiculous. If you didn't know, your body will not do this. You are not Wolverine. He is a fictional character. One of the two decided to post in on a social media site. This sparked a family debate (my bad...). One of the comments included: "Violent crime, rape, or otherwise isn't funny. It's sick." The person had previously said my friend was in the wrong for posting the picture and then proceeded to post the comment just mentioned. The picture is humorous because of the ridiculous thought that someone's body could "have ways to seal the bullet hole". Rep. Akin's statement was far more ridiculous than the picture posted, because he said it believing it to be true. Part of me wants to send him a biology book I used in 7th grade. That would not be loving or graceful as I wrote about 5 minutes ago.
There are thousands of women every year that are raped and a child is conceived from the violent crime that took place not just against them but in them. These women make very difficult decisions everyday in regards to this. My own account is not nearly as traumatic as living with a child as the result. To the women who have been molested, raped, etc. they do not enjoy hearing that their bodies will naturally prevent this from becoming a child, especially the ones who have had to come to terms with their rape resulting in pregnancy. Rape is not a joking matter, my friend's family member is right, rape is not funny. When people tell rape jokes or even use the word I shut down and want to push everyone that is near out of the way and hide. Thinking about women who have gone through far worse than I... my heart breaks. This is not something that should happen, but it does. All we can do is move forward as a society and help those we are around.
Be careful how you use the word rape. Be careful the jokes you let slip or the words you choose to say. You never know who is overhearing your conversation with their heart breaking inside their chest.
I am grateful Rep. Akin issued an apology and has maybe read a biology book as of late. However, as a society we are so easily side tracked by the next movement or the next "cool" thing to support. We forget that there are actually people who live with this everyday. The tsunami victims in Japan didn't just get over losing everything they had. They are still learning to cope. The Katrina victims still have the memories and the lost family members. Hurricane Isaac is coming to shore and taking a very similar path to that of Katrina. Katrina is probably still fresh on their minds, they are still living the nightmare they call their daily life. Those who lived through 9/11 still get worried when an airplane seems to be flying too low. West Side School shooting victims still get nervous when fire alarms are pulled. They are just waiting to see if someone is waiting outside with ammunition wanting to pick them off one by one. Rape victims are afraid of the dark. Afraid to walk to their cars at night even in a well lit parking lot, wondering if there is someone waiting near their car for them. Questioning the trust worthiness of every man they meet. We forget that there are actually people tied to the things we consider a hip thing to support or the next movement to follow.
Next time you decide you want to support a group or movement, find people who were affected before the group formed. Hear their stories. Weep with them. Rejoice with them. Love them. Become part of their life and never forget them. Remember that they have the scars you do not have (hopefully). Don't do it because you think it is cool. Do it for something much more than that. Rep. Akin may have slipped in what he said, do not let your actions show the same ignorance of his words.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Graceful July
Each month I have something I want to learn about spiritually. Even when I forget to actively pursue those monthly goals, I will reflect back and see that God has so graciously taught them to me anyway. The month of July I wanted to learn about grace. I need so much grace and I need to learn to give grace far more often than I currently do.
Grace has a couple of different meanings. When I looked it up in my Bible Dictionary I read the following: "1. properly speaking, that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, charm, sweetness, loveliness; 2. good will, loving-kindness, mercy, etc; 3. the kindness of a master toward a slave." I will come back to the first part of the definition but want to look at the other two parts first.
Good Will, Loving-Kindness, Mercy
Throughout the month of July, God has shown me so much grace and has also allowed others to show me grace that is defined this way. My roommate, for example, has shown more far more good will, loving-kindness, and mercy than I will ever deserve. She has been patient with me as I figure myself out and as I work through my own craziness. She has humored me in conversations and let things go that would drive others to the crazy house. My best friends have seen and stuck with me through quite a bit of crazy this last year. They have shown me all three things that is described in this portion of grace. I have been served up an amazing group of friends truly by the grace of God.
The Lord has also shown me this type of grace. He has given me so much mercy that I do not deserve. I am sinful and have a wicked heart, yet He exercises the right to give me mercy and not smite me for sinning against Him everyday. I am amazed by the amount of grace the Lord chooses to give me even when I am not following Him as I should. Grace is not earned, it is gifted.
Kindness of a Master toward a Slave
Our "Master" - Christ - has shown us so much grace in His dealings with us. Really. There is no better "Master" to serve than the Lord our God. Typically when we (well me anyway) think of the word "master" it does not hold a positive connotation. Master usually implies someone is over you and it is not by choice. Master implies you are forced or required to do whatever is told to you by this authority figure. Yet, when examining the Lord as Master, we get to see something completely different. The Lord cares for us and has plans for us, "plans for welfare and not for evil." Not that He is going to make us all rich with material wealth. No, His plans are eternal plans. He sees far past right now. He sees well into the future and He sees well into the past. He knows all things. He does all things according to His will. We only see but a tiny glimpse of a puzzle piece in the giant puzzle of life. We only see the here and now, if we are not looking for it and living to make an impact for the Kingdom of God we miss the bigger picture. He commands us out of grace because He knows what is to come.
The word slave is a dirty word to us. To call someone a slave is ... well, it is not acceptable. Yet, we can become a slave to our job, a slave to our studies, a slave to our money, a slave to our video games, a slave to our church, a slave to (fill in the blank). What is better than being a slave to the One who came to love us unconditionally; One who has plans for our welfare and not for evil; One who knows all things, sees all things, and cares for all things. He is the Lord who gave up His only Son, why? Because He cared for us. He showed compassion, mercy, and grace on us when He sent His Son to die for our sin. It all goes back to the gospel. Being a slave to any master that is not the Lord... well it isn't worth it. "For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death." (Romans 6:20-21). Our slavery to sin is equal to that of death. Christ took that upon Himself in an act of grace and to give us a hope, a hope in Him. He is the only Master worth following.
Properly Speaking, that which Affords Joy, Pleasure, Delight, Charm, Sweetness, Loveliness
Being graceful means good will, loving-kindness, and mercy. It means the kindness of a master toward his slave. It also means properly speaking... Not just properly speaking, but speaking in a manner that "affords joy, pleasure, delight, charm, sweetness, and loveliness". Oop! Guess I have failed at that one, everyday in the past 6 months (that I can remember...maybe longer). This one seems to hold so much weight, which is why it is fitting for it to be the first definition for the word grace. What would it look like if our words, our manner of speaking, held all of these things? We could change the world! Oh wait, Christ did that. There is only one account of Christ being angry. He had righteous anger, so not the same as when someone cuts me off in traffic and I am "angry".
Christ spoke in a way that was joyful, delightful, pleasurable, charming, sweet, and lovely. He spoke kindly to the Pharisees, yet He did not let them trap Him in their questions. Just because someone is kind in their speech does not mean they have no back bone or that they have no means of protection. Christ was witty. When asked carefully crafted questions, He answered in a way that did not trap Him but also conveyed Truth. His words were joyful. He was (is) the light of the world. He spoke with pleasure. He came to save and was thankful for the opportunity and the hope it provided. He spoke with delight. He delighted (delights) in the Father and spent as much time with Him as possible, as well as spending as much time talking about Him as possible. He spoke with charm. Charm literally means pleasing or attracting. His speech was pleasing and attractive. The people were attracted to what He had to say. He spoke with sweetness. A great example of this is with the woman at the well. Although she was a Samaritan woman and He was a Jew and their people hated one another, He spoke sweetly to her and was kind to her. He loved her and revealed Himself to her. He showed her kindness that no other Jew would have thought to show her. He spoke with loveliness. He knew His purpose for being on Earth. He knew He was to be the blood sacrifice for all men. He loves His people and wants to give hope to all who want it, His words and actions reflected that.
Christ is a perfect example of grace. He exemplifies grace.
I have so much to learn in the way of grace and pretty much everything else, but the month of July has taught me so much about the grace the Lord has bestowed upon me (and the world). He has done so much and showed me so much grace I do not even know how to respond. I do know I want to be better at showing others the same grace the Lord has shown to me.
The month of August I am learning about Meaningful Words. I want to be weary of what I say. As I look back each day on what I say and how I react to things, I realize that basically crap is coming out of my mouth. I am not showing grace in my manner of speaking. Although this post is about a month late, the Lord has taught me some very interesting things about grace and about speaking Meaningful Words. I look forward to sharing what He has taught me all through August.
Grace has a couple of different meanings. When I looked it up in my Bible Dictionary I read the following: "1. properly speaking, that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, charm, sweetness, loveliness; 2. good will, loving-kindness, mercy, etc; 3. the kindness of a master toward a slave." I will come back to the first part of the definition but want to look at the other two parts first.
Good Will, Loving-Kindness, Mercy
Throughout the month of July, God has shown me so much grace and has also allowed others to show me grace that is defined this way. My roommate, for example, has shown more far more good will, loving-kindness, and mercy than I will ever deserve. She has been patient with me as I figure myself out and as I work through my own craziness. She has humored me in conversations and let things go that would drive others to the crazy house. My best friends have seen and stuck with me through quite a bit of crazy this last year. They have shown me all three things that is described in this portion of grace. I have been served up an amazing group of friends truly by the grace of God.
The Lord has also shown me this type of grace. He has given me so much mercy that I do not deserve. I am sinful and have a wicked heart, yet He exercises the right to give me mercy and not smite me for sinning against Him everyday. I am amazed by the amount of grace the Lord chooses to give me even when I am not following Him as I should. Grace is not earned, it is gifted.
Kindness of a Master toward a Slave
Our "Master" - Christ - has shown us so much grace in His dealings with us. Really. There is no better "Master" to serve than the Lord our God. Typically when we (well me anyway) think of the word "master" it does not hold a positive connotation. Master usually implies someone is over you and it is not by choice. Master implies you are forced or required to do whatever is told to you by this authority figure. Yet, when examining the Lord as Master, we get to see something completely different. The Lord cares for us and has plans for us, "plans for welfare and not for evil." Not that He is going to make us all rich with material wealth. No, His plans are eternal plans. He sees far past right now. He sees well into the future and He sees well into the past. He knows all things. He does all things according to His will. We only see but a tiny glimpse of a puzzle piece in the giant puzzle of life. We only see the here and now, if we are not looking for it and living to make an impact for the Kingdom of God we miss the bigger picture. He commands us out of grace because He knows what is to come.
The word slave is a dirty word to us. To call someone a slave is ... well, it is not acceptable. Yet, we can become a slave to our job, a slave to our studies, a slave to our money, a slave to our video games, a slave to our church, a slave to (fill in the blank). What is better than being a slave to the One who came to love us unconditionally; One who has plans for our welfare and not for evil; One who knows all things, sees all things, and cares for all things. He is the Lord who gave up His only Son, why? Because He cared for us. He showed compassion, mercy, and grace on us when He sent His Son to die for our sin. It all goes back to the gospel. Being a slave to any master that is not the Lord... well it isn't worth it. "For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death." (Romans 6:20-21). Our slavery to sin is equal to that of death. Christ took that upon Himself in an act of grace and to give us a hope, a hope in Him. He is the only Master worth following.
Properly Speaking, that which Affords Joy, Pleasure, Delight, Charm, Sweetness, Loveliness
Being graceful means good will, loving-kindness, and mercy. It means the kindness of a master toward his slave. It also means properly speaking... Not just properly speaking, but speaking in a manner that "affords joy, pleasure, delight, charm, sweetness, and loveliness". Oop! Guess I have failed at that one, everyday in the past 6 months (that I can remember...maybe longer). This one seems to hold so much weight, which is why it is fitting for it to be the first definition for the word grace. What would it look like if our words, our manner of speaking, held all of these things? We could change the world! Oh wait, Christ did that. There is only one account of Christ being angry. He had righteous anger, so not the same as when someone cuts me off in traffic and I am "angry".
Christ spoke in a way that was joyful, delightful, pleasurable, charming, sweet, and lovely. He spoke kindly to the Pharisees, yet He did not let them trap Him in their questions. Just because someone is kind in their speech does not mean they have no back bone or that they have no means of protection. Christ was witty. When asked carefully crafted questions, He answered in a way that did not trap Him but also conveyed Truth. His words were joyful. He was (is) the light of the world. He spoke with pleasure. He came to save and was thankful for the opportunity and the hope it provided. He spoke with delight. He delighted (delights) in the Father and spent as much time with Him as possible, as well as spending as much time talking about Him as possible. He spoke with charm. Charm literally means pleasing or attracting. His speech was pleasing and attractive. The people were attracted to what He had to say. He spoke with sweetness. A great example of this is with the woman at the well. Although she was a Samaritan woman and He was a Jew and their people hated one another, He spoke sweetly to her and was kind to her. He loved her and revealed Himself to her. He showed her kindness that no other Jew would have thought to show her. He spoke with loveliness. He knew His purpose for being on Earth. He knew He was to be the blood sacrifice for all men. He loves His people and wants to give hope to all who want it, His words and actions reflected that.
Christ is a perfect example of grace. He exemplifies grace.
I have so much to learn in the way of grace and pretty much everything else, but the month of July has taught me so much about the grace the Lord has bestowed upon me (and the world). He has done so much and showed me so much grace I do not even know how to respond. I do know I want to be better at showing others the same grace the Lord has shown to me.
The month of August I am learning about Meaningful Words. I want to be weary of what I say. As I look back each day on what I say and how I react to things, I realize that basically crap is coming out of my mouth. I am not showing grace in my manner of speaking. Although this post is about a month late, the Lord has taught me some very interesting things about grace and about speaking Meaningful Words. I look forward to sharing what He has taught me all through August.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Rivers and Roads
To be honest, there are a few people I have deemed worthy of the title best friend. One of which I had the pleasure of seeing off to law school this weekend. As I sit here and think about the conversations, fun, laughter (known to some as cackling), deep ponderings, and inside jokes ... I had to do what I have been dreading for weeks. I had to tell a best friend "see ya later," in more common speak "goodbye". This is not a goodbye forever, which is why I refuse to actually say the word goodbye. We are not promised tomorrow, I do not know the next time I will actually see her again; I know that I am planning to see her again. We all have grand plans and are excited to take those next steps in life (furthering education, a big move, job promotion, marriage, kids, etc.). We forget the "see you later"'s we have to say and the Rivers and Roads we put between us as we move on to that next phase of life.
This is not meant to be sad for others, or heck... even myself. I am beginning to recognize more and more the gravity of what Paul says throughout scripture. In one verse he says, "Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time." (Col. 4:5). The last half of that, "making the best use of the time" ... we are not guaranteed any specific amount of time. The Lord is literally the only One who holds the knowledge of our end. We really do not have many years on this earth. [Yes, my thoughts went this deep as I said "see you later" to a friend who lives Rivers and Roads away]. Since we have such limited time we should not waste any of that time. What am I really doing with the time God has given me?
This is something I want to consider more often with those God has placed in my life. Regardless of their social status or economic status. God has placed each one of us in each others lives for a reason. He has a plan much larger than we can see, think, or imagine. To be honest, that plan involves furthering His kingdom ... not our own.
I may be sad about having to let a best friend be hours away but I know that He has us where He wants us. Sometimes the journey to get there is much more difficult than we would like, but He does it to grow us closer to Him and to one another. He wants us to go to Him in all things (the good... the bad ... and definitely the ugly). He hears all, sees all, and knows all; even before it comes out of our mouths. He is not surprised by anything we do. God is God and I am ooohhh so thankful that I am not. He has extended my heart to yet another part of the world I didn't even imagine (and yes that is within my own state - I am as surprised as anyone else). God has us where He wants us, geographically and all. I am challenging myself and asking God to help me use my time more wisely with those He has put on my path.
This is not meant to be sad for others, or heck... even myself. I am beginning to recognize more and more the gravity of what Paul says throughout scripture. In one verse he says, "Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time." (Col. 4:5). The last half of that, "making the best use of the time" ... we are not guaranteed any specific amount of time. The Lord is literally the only One who holds the knowledge of our end. We really do not have many years on this earth. [Yes, my thoughts went this deep as I said "see you later" to a friend who lives Rivers and Roads away]. Since we have such limited time we should not waste any of that time. What am I really doing with the time God has given me?
This is something I want to consider more often with those God has placed in my life. Regardless of their social status or economic status. God has placed each one of us in each others lives for a reason. He has a plan much larger than we can see, think, or imagine. To be honest, that plan involves furthering His kingdom ... not our own.
I may be sad about having to let a best friend be hours away but I know that He has us where He wants us. Sometimes the journey to get there is much more difficult than we would like, but He does it to grow us closer to Him and to one another. He wants us to go to Him in all things (the good... the bad ... and definitely the ugly). He hears all, sees all, and knows all; even before it comes out of our mouths. He is not surprised by anything we do. God is God and I am ooohhh so thankful that I am not. He has extended my heart to yet another part of the world I didn't even imagine (and yes that is within my own state - I am as surprised as anyone else). God has us where He wants us, geographically and all. I am challenging myself and asking God to help me use my time more wisely with those He has put on my path.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)