Who's side are you on?

Call me crazy, but I feel this is the question on everyone's mind and it is being directed straight at me.

Some folks will look at me and say, "oh, you think thisthis and this" or "you said this" so you MUST be liberal, conservative, democrat, republican, etcetcetc.

I feel like I'm in a constant battle to defend myself - and I've just got to let it go. I'm trying too hard to fit into the intellectual workings of the people around me.

Occasionally, and I do mean once in a blue moon, someone will actually ask me what I am, or how I feel about certain things, and I mumble something about how complex humans are and how we live in a post-modern world that avoids categorization.

While there might be some truth in that, I'm really just wiggling.

Should there be any confusion, I want to lay this question to rest, right now.

On my best days... (which I need more of)

I'm on Jesus side. Which means I'm on your side. Oh, and the other side. Well, I'm not really on your side or the other side, because truthfully what you want and what God wants your side to do might be two different things.

Fiddle sticks.

So, let me try again.

I'm on God's side. To be sure, this means there are things that I'm against. But mostly it means there are things I'm for. And unfortunately a lot of sides don't want the things God wants. The WEIRD thing is that God is still for those people. God's greater awareness of people changes the perspective for the better.

And that means no group is really as good as they think, and no enemy is really as demonic as we would believe.

Confused yet? Yeah.

On my worst days, I'm on my side. Not yours, not someone else's - I'm really just trying to look out for number 1. And this means that you and everyone else are simply a threat or a benefit to my future happiness.

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This whole conversation in my head just goes to show that whats important is not who's side you are on or what you appear like. It doesn't stand to reason that a liberal person is automatically an intellectual snob or that a conservative person is automatically a fundamentalist. Labels are just that...stupid labels.

Blah. I guess what I'm getting at is that the question shouldn't be "Who's side are you on?" but rather, "Who's on your side?"

And that, my friends, would be Jesus.

He sees this version of me that is pure love. No fear, no hate, no hurt, no pride.

I want to be on his side too.

Comments

  1. I struggle with it as well. I am glad to see my pastor deals with it too.

    I am financially and taxes conservative with a liberal heart for social causes? On most social causes except for abortion and gay marriage so does that make me more conservative? Ugh.

    I hate labels.

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  2. Good post. I think we all (especially myself) need to be reminded at times that, as you point out, worldly labels and sides don't get the whole picture.

    I'm a liberal. I'm a conservative. I'm a capitalist. I'm a socialist. I'm arrogant. I'm humble. Depending on the day, my mood, and the subject, I can fit into any of those seemingly different labels.

    I think if I were to try on the heavenly label of "Christ follower" more often, I would be a better person, and perhaps the world would be a better place b/c of it. Perhaps that's what we all need to do - shed the "worldly" labels, and don the all encompassing, all loving, heavenly label of Christ follower.

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  3. Great thoughts! It drives me crazy when we get stuck being on one "side" or the other. So often there is so little love for the other "side." Thanks for an important reminder to us all for the need to love people more than their "sides."

    peace,
    Eric
    http://edrew85.blogspot.com

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