Good morning. Tuesday means rambling. Time to ramble about Kyle Rittenhouse and other things that aren’t my identity:
- Kyle Rittenhouse is not my identity. What do I mean by this?
- I mean that a young man who went into a riot and subsequently faced charges for killing people with a semi-automatic weapon (or what I think about him) is NOT my identity.
- That means my opinion about him will NEVER divide me from fellow believers in Jesus.
- And while I care about laws, systems, lost lives, gun rights, the lack of truth in the media, and other elements of his case, those do not represent my identity either.
- As a believer in Jesus, I am not trying to separate Jesus or the Bible from justice. So yes, I care very much. And I believe Jesus cares very much for justice in this and other cases as well.
- But the rancor, the divisiveness, feeling like I have to comment on everything or have an opinion that agrees with the right people in order to feel accepted, NO!
- Is it wrong to have emotions? No! Not saying that either.
- Simply put, political views tell us about people, but they don’t tell us people’s identity.
- I read last week that the Church must be more than the Republican Party at prayer. Amen!
- Baker Mayfield is not my identity. I really wish the Browns would win and play well. I actually wanted Baker to have a good season.
- And while I’m frustrated by the handling of his situation, I’m not going to let it deter my energy from going other places it needs to go.
- My cars, my clothes, my job, my friends, my running, my opinions about candy and chicken sandwiches – none of these are my identity.
- The word “balance” comes to mind. I want to represent Jesus. I want to speak to concerns of justice, poverty, the oppressed, the helpless, the victimized.
- But I want to do it over the long haul and let my life speak to the ongoing need to defend right and wrong.
- I just don’t want to feel like I’m trapped by the tyranny of the next major case, verdict, reaction, event, like somehow my credibility hinges on how I respond.
- So while I’ll be interested in what happens to those accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery, I’d rather my beliefs, study of Scripture, and ongoing actions speak louder than any crisis-hopping opinion.