Christian Stupidity.

Y'all, Im going to be R E A L. I struggle with people. I struggle with criticizing too strongly. This is what I continually pray about. And Lord knows I work on it. Even tonight on the way to dinner I asked Phillip & Cheyanne to hold me accountable. I felt God speaking to me today...asking me if I prayed for those that I disagreed with. And no, I dont...not like I should anyways. So my convictions kicked in quick and I made a decision to shut my mouth, cut off my thoughts and pray.

I say all that to say I can be just as guilty. We all fall short.

So, I'm feeling refreshed and excited about my new decision and I open Facebook....

And there it is...a status from a woman I know. This status broke my heart. It was a very personal post about her marriage. I read hurt, embarrassment, anger, and a cry for help. I shut my eyes and asked God to mend her broken heart. I asked him to give her peace in this storm. I asked Him to give her strength and wisdom. Then I prayed for her husband. I asked God to move in his life and to convict his heart. 

Then...I clicked on the comments. I could see that another friend commented and what I could read was so encouraging. I wanted to read the rest so I clicked.

And there it was...Christian Stupidity.

This man most likely had a good heart and good intentions but it was just so stupid. He corrected her. He corrected her on her personal page. He told her she shouldn't post her personal business....blah blah blah. Whether his intentions were good or not, they appeared bad to everyone else.

My blood boiled. Other people started debating him and getting upset. 

It made Christians look bad. It did nothing but make her mad, make others mad and create chaos...for many people to read. 

Ya know, I have mixed emotions about whether or not she should post something that personal. BUT my opinion doesn't matter. What matters is that another Christian...another human being is hurting!! Shouldn't we show her nothing but love??

““Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Matthew 22:36-39 NIV

Prayers should be going up, encouraging words, unifying together and uplifting this woman. It's not the time to correct someone. What did he achieve? Nothing. Someone that is obviously hurting and you're going to try to make her feel worse??

So maybe this hit me wrong and I'm going on and on....but I'm tired of being silent. I'm tired of seeing Christians hurt Christians. People respond to love. Period. 

I could only imagine the impact we could of made on this woman tonight. She may of felt so encouraged that she decided that when God restored her marriage that she wouldn't want this post out in the public. She may of deleted it on her own will. Maybe, maybe not. 

(And if you read this and it's about you...your situation inspired me. I am praying for you and your husband. )

I know God has called me to love without limits. To love the hurt and to be compassionate. It truly is easier said than done. I'm not perfect, but my heart wants to be as close to His as it possibly can. 

I try to live by this scripture:

“Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.””

Isaiah 35:3-4 NIV

I challenge you to love your neighbor as yourself. Pray for people instead of correcting them. Jesus Christ can do the correcting, I promise you that.