I'm reading a
friend's paper that he wrote while in seminary on Ministerial Identity
and a huge chunk of it has to do with him writing out what it is he
believes so, a little while ago I took out my journal and wrote out the
guiding principles of my life, the core values that I live by and see
almost everything by. I am not going to anchor each to a Scripture, but
will say they have all been informed by a group of Scriptures: Micah
6:8, the one in Exodus or Deuteronomy that talks about how the
Israelites were once strangers in a land, then when I was thirsty, you
didn't give me water to drink, Isaiah 61, and the overarching scripture
is Genesis where it speaks of man being made in the image of God.
*What I Believe*
- That every person should be helped in some way, shape, or form, REGARDLESS of how they got into the position they are in.
*- That although I will be making money, I should never have the mentality that I should be able to keep all of what I make and not share with others. That is not good, Spirit-led stewardship. If I am to give myself away, it should also be true in this area of my life.
- No matter what someone believes, how they live their life, there is still beauty and value in them (because each of us were made in the image of God). Their differences in lifestyle and worldviews(s) does not make their voice less-than or antagonistic of my voice, does not invalidate their voice (thoughts, opinions).
- We are ALL equal, no matter how much/little education someone has, how much/little money someone makes, because we ALL bleed red, we ALL are the same color when the lights are turned off. Gender does not connote inequality in one's ability/inability.
*- Instead of gender, race, and class being dividing lines in our country, city, state, in our relationships, they could/should be unifying elements , if we just pave the way for each other, empowering each other, instead of dis-empowering people - whether it be through our speech, actions, or lack thereof.
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It''s deeper than politics for me, it's how I see people, how I have friendships, relationships, things like culture, class, race - all play a part.
This is who I've always been, even from a young age when I didn't know how to formulate into words the injustice that I observed all around me. This is who I've become, this is my life now, and these are the things most important to me, outside of God and theology - informed by those two very things.
*What I Believe*
- That every person should be helped in some way, shape, or form, REGARDLESS of how they got into the position they are in.
*- That although I will be making money, I should never have the mentality that I should be able to keep all of what I make and not share with others. That is not good, Spirit-led stewardship. If I am to give myself away, it should also be true in this area of my life.
- No matter what someone believes, how they live their life, there is still beauty and value in them (because each of us were made in the image of God). Their differences in lifestyle and worldviews(s) does not make their voice less-than or antagonistic of my voice, does not invalidate their voice (thoughts, opinions).
- We are ALL equal, no matter how much/little education someone has, how much/little money someone makes, because we ALL bleed red, we ALL are the same color when the lights are turned off. Gender does not connote inequality in one's ability/inability.
*- Instead of gender, race, and class being dividing lines in our country, city, state, in our relationships, they could/should be unifying elements , if we just pave the way for each other, empowering each other, instead of dis-empowering people - whether it be through our speech, actions, or lack thereof.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It''s deeper than politics for me, it's how I see people, how I have friendships, relationships, things like culture, class, race - all play a part.
This is who I've always been, even from a young age when I didn't know how to formulate into words the injustice that I observed all around me. This is who I've become, this is my life now, and these are the things most important to me, outside of God and theology - informed by those two very things.
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