Vintagegold
Member
Lately this has been upsetting me for a number of reasons. And not just because of the recent election and whatnot, but mostly because I am told that unless you vote for a particular party, you cannot call yourself a Christian. What really gets me is that the people telling me this or indirectly giving subtle messages about this are hardly people to talk.
I consider myself largely a nonjudgmental and understanding person. If I do judge, the judge the actions, not the person but of course I do have my limits. People tell me that I'm a good listener, I'm understanding, and I'm a good friend. I'm not the type of person to tell someone I know "you're awful for doing that!" or "you can't/can do that/this." Of course if I am disappointed in certain things my friends/family do I let them know but it's never a "that is really immoral" or "you're a bad person." It's usually "I'm disappointed to hear that, but I think we both know what was the right decision" or "I'm sad to hear that but ultimately that's your decision to make."
So here's what happened. Of course the recent election I'm sure has raised the ire of many debates and heated arguments and I usually try to stay away from that. However because I chose not to vote the same way as many people I know, I've been told that I cannot truly call myself a Christian, that I am a "cafeteria" Christian, and that I need to "vote Christian." Last time I checked, I needed to vote for what was best for the country in accordance to my reasoning, not because I want to impose and force my beliefs on others.
This makes me upset because of all people to tell me this, they are the ones who made the "bad" decisions. Even though many of their decisions have not been ones I would personally make, I would never bring up past faults to mudsling because really, that is not my place.
I'm not trying to brag or make myself seem better than anyone else, but I have actually made a strong conscious effort to live my life conservatively according to Christian values. I waited until marriage to be sexually active, I refrain from drinking, smoking and drug use, I treat others the way I would want to be treated, I teach others what I think would be good alternatives to their behaviors but respect the fact that I can't make them do what I would, I consider myself a modest person in what I say and my outward appearance, etc. Usually I get some crap about any of the above and I tell people that's just the way I chose to be and leave it at that, and they usually do to. But these friends or should I say "friends" cannot leave a dead horse be.
For some reason, they forget the verse "let he without sin cast the first stone." I make a good effort not to even pick up the stones but these "friends" sure do a lot of casting to me. Just because of the way I vote! And I've never declared to belong to one political party or another. What gives??
I consider myself largely a nonjudgmental and understanding person. If I do judge, the judge the actions, not the person but of course I do have my limits. People tell me that I'm a good listener, I'm understanding, and I'm a good friend. I'm not the type of person to tell someone I know "you're awful for doing that!" or "you can't/can do that/this." Of course if I am disappointed in certain things my friends/family do I let them know but it's never a "that is really immoral" or "you're a bad person." It's usually "I'm disappointed to hear that, but I think we both know what was the right decision" or "I'm sad to hear that but ultimately that's your decision to make."
So here's what happened. Of course the recent election I'm sure has raised the ire of many debates and heated arguments and I usually try to stay away from that. However because I chose not to vote the same way as many people I know, I've been told that I cannot truly call myself a Christian, that I am a "cafeteria" Christian, and that I need to "vote Christian." Last time I checked, I needed to vote for what was best for the country in accordance to my reasoning, not because I want to impose and force my beliefs on others.
This makes me upset because of all people to tell me this, they are the ones who made the "bad" decisions. Even though many of their decisions have not been ones I would personally make, I would never bring up past faults to mudsling because really, that is not my place.
I'm not trying to brag or make myself seem better than anyone else, but I have actually made a strong conscious effort to live my life conservatively according to Christian values. I waited until marriage to be sexually active, I refrain from drinking, smoking and drug use, I treat others the way I would want to be treated, I teach others what I think would be good alternatives to their behaviors but respect the fact that I can't make them do what I would, I consider myself a modest person in what I say and my outward appearance, etc. Usually I get some crap about any of the above and I tell people that's just the way I chose to be and leave it at that, and they usually do to. But these friends or should I say "friends" cannot leave a dead horse be.
For some reason, they forget the verse "let he without sin cast the first stone." I make a good effort not to even pick up the stones but these "friends" sure do a lot of casting to me. Just because of the way I vote! And I've never declared to belong to one political party or another. What gives??
