Verses: Psalms 129: 1 - 8
Song inspired by the chapter: Song has been uploaded from YouTube.com and is not my original.
My thoughts about the
verses:
As a victim of bullying
I can tell you that words do matter. I
read something the other day that said sticks and stones may break my bones but
words haunt me forever. Any person that
has been bullied in their past can remember the things that were said. It is sad to think but there are people in
the world today that are still living with the hate that was told them when
they were kids.
We as Christians are all
too often guilty of bullying. When we decide
that certain people are not allowed into our church circle we are
bullying. I think it is so ironic that
the people that should be helping are often the victimizers. We as a church have all too often said things
that are hateful and pushed people away.
We have turned the house of God into a place where different cliques
instead an opening inviting community.
We have placed people into different circles and we do not play fair
with each clique in their involvement with the church.
It is even sadder when
you realize this happens even in the most welcoming of churches. All you have to do is watch how people
interact on a Sunday morning and you will see the different cliques. You do have those that go out of their way to
make everyone feel welcomed. Yet, you
still have people that are a part of this circle or that circle. Very often the circles do not intercept with
each other. No wonder people run away
from organized religion.
We as individuals
Christians need to realize that we can stop this from happening. We need to accept people just as they
are. We do not need to put expectations
on how people would behave. We need to
eliminate the stereotypes that we have established. Instead of wanting cookie cutter Christians
in our life we need to be open in accepting people just like they are.
Imagine a world where people
no longer felt like they were expected to act a certain way to serve God. They did not have to sing if they didn’t feel
comfortable. They didn’t have to go
through rituals of standing or kneeling at services just because others were
doing that. They didn’t have to pray
like everyone else. They could be their
own self doing what God has inspired them to do.
Those Churches that have
opened the doors to all are in a new frontier.
They have the opportunity to change how their church reacts within
itself. These churches can choose to
make the personal experience of Christ the highlight of their ministry. They can allow people to do things that God
have called them to do. Just think about
all the different ministries could exist if we allow the people of the church
to express God in their own way. Instead
of setting established pattern of ritual ministry we need to open our doors to
new ways of experiencing Christ.
The church has to act
first by stopping the bullying that exists.
Our children are learning from us how to separate people. We are showing them that people are not
worthy enough to be friends. It is a
shame when you think about the fact that the church has influenced hate in this
world. Instead of being a place that
does nothing but show love and teaches our children how to accept others we
have become a place of exclusion. We
have set our standards so high that we exclude the very people that God came to
minister.
Prayer:
We praise you God for
loving us just the way we are. We thank
you for not expecting us to be one certain way.
We worship you for your loving embrace.
Help us to open our hearts and our churches to those that the world has
set aside. Help us to be a community that
puts love before exclusion. In the name
of the Creator of us all we pray. Amen
Questions:
Remember one day you
were on the outside looking in. Do you
remember how that felt? If you are now
on the inside isn’t it time you help others feel the warmth that you experience?
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