Tag Archives: beliefs

about-me, faith

Stand by your beliefs

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Did anyone watch The Voice last night? I don’t generally watch singing competition shows, but I’ve followed this one this year because of one particular singer on it.

Holly Tucker caught my attention a year and a half ago at the MDA Muscle Walk in Waco. She sang a couple songs, and I couldn’t stop gushing over her talent afterwards. (Here is a video I took of her singing “Hero” that day.) I declared that she’d be a star some day, if she’d just never give up on it.

She’s on The Voice this year, and has made the top 10! Last night, she sang, “How Great Thou Art,” choosing to stand behind her belief in God and proclaim it to the world. She gave me chills. She brought tears to my eyes. God bless her, she stood strong against the critics that were sure to come.

Yesterday, a horrible, horrible tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma. A week ago, a tornado hit Granbury, TX. Last month, a fertilizer plant exploded in West, TX. At the end of last year, a shooter walked into an elementary school in Newtown, CT and killed 26 people.

And you know what I saw every single time. EVERY time? People sending prayers and thoughts to the victims and the survivors. An overwhelming number of prayers going up to God to give them all strength and to hold them in his arms. And I loved seeing that.

Why? Because I am sick — absolutely SICK — of people being made to feel embarrassed for believing in God. Holly said in an interview that her choice of song last night was not to push her belief on others, but to show who she is.

WHEN DID IT BECOME WRONG TO SHOW WHO YOU ARE??

I’m tired of people being told they can’t show they are praying because it might offend someone who doesn’t believe as they do. Why? Why can’t they pray to their God and ask for his strength? Why do they have to deny a part of themselves so as not to offend someone else? At what point do they say, “You telling me I can’t pray offends ME.”

Why is it only okay to proclaim you’re sending prayers up when something bad happens? Or when something really great happens? What about all those other mundane normal days? Isn’t it okay to pray then? Because, frankly, there’s more mundane days than horrible or amazing ones.

I’ve read a few of the critics of Holly’s song choice. Some saying she did it because she knew people would eat it up. Others saying they didn’t like seeing a gospel song on a singing competition. To both, I say they are entitled to their opinions. But to Holly I thank her for having the guts to do it. To stand behind her beliefs and not be afraid to show who she is.

People have been persecuted for their beliefs for thousands of years, and even in this country that was founded on freedom OF religion we’re still fighting persecution. If you proclaim belief in God you’re a “bible thumper” and society mocks you. If you sing a Christian song you’re “doing it for the votes.” If you pray in school, you get expelled.

But I am here, right now, to tell you I am a Christian. I believe in God. I pray every day in my own way. I have faith that He has a plan. And if that offends any one, I am not going to apologize. I’m simply going to say that I am still me. I’m not here to push my faith on you. I’m here to simply ask you respect that its part of who I am. Don’t ask me to deny my God… because I won’t.

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Standing on the sidelines of controversy

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or are just really  busy — which sometimes makes you feel you DO live under a rock), you probably know the big topic in the news besides the Olympics is the Chick-fil-A controversy.

Apparently, the CEO of Chick-fil-A came out with anti-gay statements. For those who missed them, let me share those statements now:

“We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.”

By the way, the entire original article is worth reading.

Taking a deep breath here, because I rarely comment on controversy. Why? Because for one thing I hate confrontations. I hate being flamed for things that are just my opinion (which last I checked opinions aren’t right or wrong, they just ARE). But beyond that, I tend to sit on the edge of controversy and go, “Oh I see your side.” and then turn to the other side and go, “Oh I see your side, too.”

But this is one that has SO MANY ANGLES that my head is spinning! Following Twitter yesterday was like trying to read a choose your own adventure book. Everyone had their own opinion, and everyone stood strong on that opinion.

And you know what?

THAT’S WAY FREAKING AWESOME!

It’s nice to see people stand for their beliefs! It’s nice to see people be passionate about their beliefs!

What’s not nice is when someone can’t stand strong without slamming someone with a differing opinion.

Like I said, yesterday’s opinions were far and wide. Everything from, “I refuse to support a company that doesn’t support gay/lesbian marriage.” to, “Intolerance is what is wrong with this country,” to, “I believe like they do so I am going to show that by eating there!’ to, “I just appreciate a company standing for their beliefs.” to, “I don’t agree with a company being told to get out of a city just because they stood by their beliefs.” to, “What’s the big deal, anyway? If you don’t like their beliefs, just eat somewhere else.”

And some had a mixture of several of those opinions.

The only opinions that upset me were the ones that (a) attacked the other side with a vengeance and with deep spite, and the ones that (b) based their opinion strictly on the picture painted by others (i.e. the media or rumors).

And therein lies where I tend to sit on the edge of controversy. I want to know the facts of the matter — not just what the media tells me I need to know.

For example, I did not see a single news article about the original article that included the quote, “We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.” Perhaps other people heard that quote, but I never did. Almost every article I heard lead viewers/readers to believe the company was strictly, “If you don’t agree with us, shame on you. We hate you.” When I read the article I read, “Hey, we know people disagree with us. But thank God its a free country to believe and run our business as we want to.”

And you know what? THAT’S the side I want to sit on… the side that says, “One of our rights is to believe as we want to as individuals.”

It takes a lot of courage to state your beliefs, whatever they may be. Especially because we live in a world where its becoming less and less okay to stand by your beliefs. It seems people are inclined to conclude that if someone believes in  X, they obviously hate Y, even if they never say anything negative about Y. But sometimes, it is truly as simple as, “This is how I feel. It doesn’t mean I hate you.”

I am in no way affiliated with Chick-fil-A. I can’t speak for them. I have never worked there, etc. But I do know that we live in a country where we are all free to believe what we believe… and I just wish we could all respect our differing beliefs without assuming anyone who thinks differently from you is automatically the enemy.