Want a Tip?

Back in February, I wrote a post titled "Enough Already" ... remember that one? I was ticked off the night I penned the words for that entry ... I was royally ticked off, in fact, and I decided that enough was enough and I could no longer remain silent about certain things. In that post, I wrote the following words:

"See here's the thing I've had enough of ... the thing I've definitely had enough of is judgment. I don't want to be judgmental ever again, and I think I've come a heck of a long way in regard to loving and accepting other people for exactly who they are. And I've had enough of being judged ... I've told the people who've talked to me one on one that I don't need anyone else to hate me ... I've hated myself enough for everyone on the planet. The real truth, the only truth that really matters, is that only God can judge me or anyone else because only He is truly righteous. If I haven't learned anything over the last months of my life, I've learned this ... the whole judging thing hurts everyone involved. Whether or not I realize it at the time I'm doing it, I'm hurting myself when I judge others. And I know firsthand what it feels like to be judged ... it flipping, stinking hurts. Judgment leaves wounds that are deep and painful ... judgment leaves wounds that in turn cause giant scars to form, scars that are ever-present reminders of just how painful judgment is, whether you're handing it out or taking it in, judgment hurts."

And in a previous post in January titled "For Gary's Sake," I wrote these words:

"Young Gary has asked me many questions over the last three days, as have many of you. And as I said earlier this week, I have many questions of my own to which I'm not sure I will ever know the answers. I'm going to try tonight, however, to answer a few that have been posed to me repeatedly this week. But after that ... well, after that, I'm going to get back to writing about the things that matter most to me. Though I was incredibly humbled by the kind words of my friend in her guest blog, one thing she said is true ... 'Not one of these things alone defines her, but a combination of all of her attributes makes Terrie who she is.' I know that it's at the top of the list now for some of you, but my sexuality isn't what defines me or makes me who I am. After I answer some of your questions tonight concerning that one small part of me, I'm going to get back to writing about the people and things that matter most to me. I'm going to get back to writing about God and His unconditional, unfailing love ... about the journey of life we all share ... about lessons in the big and little things we encounter along the way ... about the funny and the goofy and the sad and the serious."

I've mentioned in numerous posts that I don't want my blog to become a platform for controversial issues, and I try to be very careful not to write about "those" issues ... issues that I'm often asked to write about and that I choose not to. I think, however, that I may need to change my stance a bit on that  ... on my blog being a platform, that is. I think maybe it should be a platform for love ... unconditional love for one another ... the same kind of love that God has for each and every one of us. Yep, that's right ... God loves every single one of us ... UNCONDITIONALLY. If I have a platform ... a voice that is called to deliver a message through the words of the posts in this blog ... that's what I want it to be. We need to stop the madness of judging one another and just love each other the way God loves us ... the way He commands us to love each other ... the same way He loves us.

There's been a big story out of Kansas City that has spread like wildfire since yesterday, and I received an email today with the link to the story. But the email didn't just contain the link about the young server at Carraba's, it also contained a very hurtful personal message to me as well (from someone I don't know, I might add, but who said she has heard me speak at several Christian women's events in the past). Some of you would like nothing better than for me to copy and paste the content of the email into this post for all the world to read, but I won't. You know why I won't? Because it would be wrong for me to do so. You know why it would be wrong? Because that would quite possibly cause many of you to judge the woman, and that, in my opinion, would be me willfully sinning by placing the ammunition into your judging guns and cocking the trigger for you.

I don't have to try to imagine how humiliated the young server at Carrabba's was by the note left by a "Christian" couple explaining that they were not leaving him a tip because of his sexuality ... I don't have to try to imagine it because I know firsthand what that type of humiliation feels like. I know what it's like to be judged because of my appearance ... the clothes I wear, the cut of my hair, the trim of my nails, the way I walk ... and I know what it's like to be judged because of who I am. You know what else I know? I know that it's wrong ... what that couple did to that young man is just plain wrong. And even more than what they did to him is wrong, what they did to all of us who call ourselves Christians is far, far worse. Not all Christians hate ... not all Christians judge ... not all Christians exclude ... not all Christians condemn ... not all Christians treat a person with so much disrespect and unkindness. There are a lot of Christians who love ... a lot of Christians who are accepting ... a lot of Christians who fight against injustice of all forms ... a lot of Christians who fully understand the meaning of the word UNCONDITIONALLY.

Want a tip? Love. That's it. Just love.

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8