The Ministry of Ham

[MissBrattified]

Originally Posted by Neckstadt

Agreement if you can solidify it with the fact you have stood up before...

I'm not in any political position to stand up to anyone who matters. If you have connections, then more power to you. But I do live by what I believe and preach (I don't actually preach...you understand), and I speak it when its appropriate.

I really don't appreciate the implication that I wouldn't or don't or haven't ever experienced standing up for what I believe. It's unnecessary, really, pointing to a certain arrogance on your part. Quite frankly, I'm offended. I wouldn't even consider giving you a laundry list of what could certainly be called paltry experiences with such matters, especially compared to some here. Not only is it none of your business, but quite frankly I think you are making yourself look bad with your pointlessly pointed question, so I have no need to defend myself with offering specifics.

That would be like telling me that I have no right to speak my mind about political issues unless I've "stood up" to a high-ranking politician. No, I "stand up" by voting in local and national elections, and speaking what I believe at any opportunity.

I "stand up" for good church government by attending and supporting a church whose pastor is good and kind and fair and a true servant. I encourage others to attend, or attend similar churches with similar leadership. I (and my husband) teach our children that leadership is about serving God and others, and in that way I stand up for godly leadership.

Once, a long time back, my husband stood up for me, when I was too intimidated by an overbearing and abusive authority to stand up for myself, and he did so with grace and dignity and respect (for the man who had caused the offense), and still managed to whisk me away to a better place without ever compromising his own integrity, and I learned a valuable lesson--that it's okay to "stand up", and that you can and should stand up without lowering yourself to another, entirely different, level. The level that I've seen some on these forums stoop to in order to point out all the disgraces they see everywhere they look, because they look with a critical eye. They ought to instead, be looking with an eye that is tinted, not blinded, with brotherly love.