Another Sunday come and gone, and the message was about confidence. Approach every challenge with confidence and you will succeed. Something like that. It's been a few days since then. Here's my take on what was said.
Confidence comes from within your being. Support comes from those you surround yourself with.
Now it's my turn.
Confidence can often be confused with arrogance. The only difference is the motive of the individual. With confidence, one only seeks to overcome the challenge. It is usually accompanied with humility. With arrogance, one seeks to put on a show for others. Pride is usually on the line.
That's that.
This week, I decided on a change that I posted online and it was met with mixed responses. Some supportive, some trying to convince me that I would be wromg.
For a few years now, I've noticed that every time I go to a conventional Christian church, the message is incomplete and/or covers a subject that I have already been through.
I am told that sometimes it is good to hear an old message again as a reminder, but what if you don't need a reminder because you have already applied this change to your life? What if your feel like it's time to move forward instead of walking the same old path over and over again?
This is where I am.
There are a few personal beliefs that I hold close to my heart and will share with anyone who wants to know what they are. One of these beliefs is that if you are going to invest youself in something, there must be some progressive stimulation. Basically, a sense of forward momentum.
I earlier blogged about how this is the year of the dragon and how those that want to move forward should find a dragon to follow. I was born in the year of the dragon, and I plan on always moving forward throughout the year. This means only that I will not look back or stay in the same place for long.
I will be extending my arm behind me to pull along anyone that wants to move forward with me and I will pull along anyone who wants to come.
My personal journey is going to take me away from the traditional worship center and I will search for a path that will move my existence forward.
Now for those that want to convince me that I simply haven't found the right Christian church or I just need to hear it again or whatever else you want to tell me to rope me back in.
I am not denouncing any religion.
I'm not going to turn into a satanist.
I'm not saying the bible is wrong.
I'm still the same person I've always been.
Nothing has changed.
This is not negative.
Trust me.
This is the next step for me.
I've spent over twenty years as a Christian and have been deeply rooted in it with a lack of exposure to any other way of life. My personal beliefs don't quite line up with what I've been surrounded in so far. I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just saying that there is more than one road from point A to point B.
There are many more ways of life that are far more ancient than this and that not only teach about what to think and how to treat others, but how to treat the planet that we all live on. How to treat your own body other than simply to respect it. There are ways to create healthy communities that value the state of the world as a whole rather than just the state of the heart.
You must take care of yourself in order to be able to think clearly, reason, care and be able to behave in a wholesome manner. My soul has been taken care of as well as it can be, but there is more to me than that. It is time to better understand the world around me and my self on a whole new level.
I've shown the courage. Now I'll find those who support me as I walk through my daily life.
I do understand where you are coming from Sam that you sometimes here the same message over and over but sometimes the words are meant for those who do know Christ or have not decided on their life's direction. You are a great person and I you find everything you are looking for we do care about you.
ReplyDeleteSo, here's my thoughts...
DeleteWhen it comes to the difference between confidence and arrogance, I agree that it does have everything to do with what the motive is. Well said. In addition, I also think so the two don't get confused, one should make known the reason behind why they do what they do.
"Religion" and "Christian" Those are two words that I have a hard time with. I feel like they get tossed around so much that there is no real meaning to the words. I know I have been guilty of the misuse of them myself. You know, "I'm religious, I go to church, I'm a Christian, I'm saved, but... I'm still going to do things my way." OR "I'll do whatever I want throughout the week then when Sunday comes I'll go to church and get forgiveness." Now, here's a word I do like, "Relationship." In my opinion, Relationships require communication, sacrifices, an understanding, a desire to get to know one another more or grow closer, and compromise. So, I say FORGET Religion or that well known label "Christian." I'm am completely all about a getting down deep and dirty, real relationship with God.
You mentioned the state of heart... I believe that in order to have an affect on the world, it does start with yourself. The condition of your heart has an affect on the world around you. This totally goes back to having that relationship with God and living out the "The Great Commission" (...Just as the Father sent me, I send you. - John 20:21) We are told to go out to the world, but in order to do this there has to be something happening on the inside for us to purely express it on the outside. This is what I believe, how I feel. I have experience amazing things by actually putting this in play. My life has turned new corners and I can breathe a little bit better. The reason is because the change inside, a healthy heart, and the incredible relationship that I have gave into with Christ.
We all go through, "Oh no, not this sermon again." Yeah, maybe there's someone else that might need to hear it for the first time. Yeah, sometimes the reminder is nice. And Yeah, maybe we feel that we have heard it enough and we don't need to hear it again. However, just make sure that before completely discarding, maybe look into it try to find the good in it. I challenge myself (more recently) that when the "Oh no, not this sermon again" comes up, to look for something new that I can get out of it. You know, something fresh and motivating.
So yeah... that's all the thoughts that are going on in my mind. It's nice to see different perspectives. As always, looking forward to reading more.