Simplistic Thoughts

I recently gave a speech in my communications class about compromise in your convictions and it was pretty powerful, but it got me to think about several other things. Most recently it has been brought to my attention the amount of times people will share their beliefs and start it off by saying, "I was raised..." or "I was brought up to believe..." even though many times in their adulthood they have turned from these ideas/religions/beliefs/etc... they were raised up on. It got me to wonder did they ever really believe in their beliefs? Or did they just fall victim to a set of rules cloaked behind religion?

More and more I am finding out how important it is to understand what you believe and why you believe what you believe, because in the long run setting that foundation is what is going make or break your beliefs. People sometimes have a hard time believing in God and the Bible because they have never viewed it as something personal or applicable, yet something they were forced to believe growing up or coaxed into it through fear or whatever the tactic may be. Sure God has set boundaries up in our lives if we so choose to follow those, but not because of regulation but because of the importance of it in every relationship! Yes, God's word says to wait to have sex til you're married, why do I follow that? Yes, I do want to follow God's word but I now see the importance behind it. Unfortunately I did not wait, but one day I am going to marry the love of my life but with sadness I am going to have to look him in the eye and tell him that he was not important enough to me as a youth to wait for and give myself to! Ouch!! Talk about a sucker punch to the manhood, lol (yes I went there!!)

So many people cut the excuse that they were raised Christian, like that buys them a holier than thou ticket yet they hate God's church (which people, the church is Biblical and I will show you in both the Bible and early church history), they party, sleep with people who aren't their spouses, (okay this may sounds religious, but if you sleep with someone who you do not have the intentions of marrying or don't marry at all, you are sleeping with someone else's future husband or wife- maybe that will change your perspective next time you're thinking of a little roll in the hay!!!) Look I am not here to judge nor condemn, that's not my place or position- but I am here to stir up the complacency of our generation and encourage you to find relationship with the God you pray to instead of finding religion, which will only get you to a place of bitterness and crazy, false philosophies. As the saying goes, "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything."