Think before you act

I've been spending quite a bit of time reflecting lately on the need to think before we act or speak. Specifically the need to think about how someone else may perceive, misuse, or be hurt by our actions. One of the beauties of hindsight is that it equips you to bestow wisdom to others out of your screw ups.

Today in church I was really perplexed by a drama that was presented by the youth. It was titled something about "Faith Prints Anonymous" and the essential plot was a group of people gathering in a support group setting for those who act out of faith. I don't think the skit intended to, but it was a definite jab at AA and other such groups, which are so vital. I couldn't understand how the leader couldn't step back and take a moment to think 'could this possibly be offensive to anyone in the congregation?' or 'what is the cost of this joke'. For me the prices would have been too high. All I could think of were the people who would be grieved by what they were seeing, and even as I sit here writing this, one person who I care for dearly would very much be hurt. Chances are someone in the congregation attends a necessary support group. May we pray that they didn't take it as poorly as I did.

My second problem with the skit is that it posed faith as something to be ashamed of. Maybe if it was acted better the punch line would have came across in a clearer manner, but that was not the case as it stood. Faith is this beautiful gift. Yet we trivialize it. For what purpose? What good can that possibly serve to affirm others?

The more I thought about this play, I realized that we make poor choices with our words and actions everyday as Christians. We aren't fighting the good fight of faith, we are taking the Bible and making it into a sword to wound others. One of the people on my facebook list this week put up a statistic about the ratio of terrorists to unborn babies killed. How could that be a good thing? What if someone saw that who lost a child, a mother, a father in 9/11? And what if someone on your friend list, unbeknowance to you, had an abortion? Is that going to bring them comfort to their wounded heart?

I'm trying to watch what I say and do more especially in the public forum. That doesn't mean that I'm paranoid or that I won't screw up. But I realized that there are enough wounds in the world, Christians aren't caused people to bleed to death.