Dare to BE: The One Who Puts the Stone Down

Hey guys! Hope all has been well and that y'all are all staying as safe and healthy as possible! I actually just finished my FINAL final ever at Texas Wesleyan, so your girl is officially a college graduate and I could not be happier! I would be lying if I said I didn't reward myself with a whole bunch of chocolate and pizza. But enough about me... I got things on my mind today! So, for those that know me, I am not SUPER into social media. I post on Instagram every now and again, my Twitter is basically just full of my retweets, and my Facebook is basically just reposts of my Instagram. My Snapchat is probably what I am the most active on, and even then there are times when I could take it or leave it. But, even though I am not super active on Twitter, I definitely have looked at it a lot over quarantine and social distancing times, and boy, have I seen A LOT of interesting things.. from shared Tik Toks to relationship advice to promotion of Onlyfans accounts (not judging, to each their own I'm just stating facts).

In all of this, one of the most interesting things that I have seen during quarantine is how many people participate and enjoy "Cancel culture". For those that aren't familiar, "Cancel culture" is where a celebrity, or anyone really, does something that current society or a certain group of people doesn't agree with, and so they rally together and blast the victim to try and damage or end their careers. The most recent example I saw that was extremely hilarious was a call to "cancel Robert Downey, Jr.". So for some background, a certain group of people watched the movie "Tropic Thunder", which was made in 2008 and starred Robert Downey, Jr. "Bri, why were they outraged?" you ask. Well, because Robert Downey, Jr. used blackface during the movie, and that is a huge no-no in the typical context.

However, anyone who has ever seen this movie knows that the blackface used in this movie was not the typical context. In this movie, Robert Downey, Jr. plays a method actor named Kirk Lazarus, who alters his skin pigmentation controversially in order to appear black to play the character Staff Sergeant Lincoln Osiris. He also takes on extremely stereotypical characteristics to also portray this man. Long story short- RDJ is an actor, playing an actor using blackface. It's supposed to be a joke about method actors and people who do these things... kind of like "Blazing Saddles", if anyone has ever been brave enough to watch that movie. The whole point that I'm trying to make with this is, too often, we are more than ready to condemn others and make sure they know that they messed up. Any time we are wronged or feel like we have been wronged, we make sure we do everything that we can to hurt the person that wronged us. We try to ensure that we "get even" and that they feel the pain that we are feeling at the time.

Now, this next part is going to probably step on some toes, but just know that I am coming from a place of love and also self-reflection... so bear with me because I am just as guilty.

The problem with this method is it implies that you yourself are perfect and have never made a mistake and hurt someone else. We as people don't hold ourselves accountable for our own actions, while trying to hold those around us to a completely different standard that's way higher than the one that we hold for our own. NEWS FLASH my loves: WE ARE NOT PERFECT. Not any of us. No matter how hard we try, we are going to hurt people. We are going to do wrong. And we are also going to be hurt. It's a part of human nature and the human condition. So the real question is, why hold others to a standard that you cannot uphold yourself?

Not only that, but holding grudges, being angry, and continuing to allow a situation to hurt you (yes, you are ALLOWING that situation to hurt you) doesn't hurt anyone but yourself. Yes, you are feeling that emotion and it needs to be felt, but allowing it to linger for days and weeks doesn't hurt the person you're holding ill will towards. Honestly, they probably don't even know that you're still angry at them. These negative emotions that you are holding onto are only causing you continuous pain and discontent because you refuse to let them go. And again, I'm telling you this, but I am not perfect, either. I struggle with this when trying to navigate my different relationships... and that's why God put it in the Bible, so you wouldn't have to only take my word for it!

So first, we are going to Acts 7 to talk about an amazing man named Stephen, who met an untimely demise because people didn't know how to take what he was trying to tell them. Stephen was a godly man who was trying to correct the Jewish people in love and lead them in the right direction. Unfortunately, they did not want to hear what he had to say. AT ALL. They were so set in their ways that they felt like their next best move was to kill Stephen. Not only did they kill Stephen, but they stoned him to death. But the amazing thing is, even while the Jewish people were stoning him to death, Stephen asked for the Lord to receive his spirit and prayed that the Lord not hold his death against the people there. He showed GRACE. He showed FORGIVENESS. WHILE THEY WERE KILLING HIM. Put yourself in his place... can you honestly say that you would do the same?

Next, we're going to talk about the classic "don't throw a stone" story. Let's jump to John 8 and let's talk about the adulterous woman. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus. The teachers and Pharisees stated that Moses' law said that she should be stoned and asked Jesus what they should do, trying to catch Him in a mistake. But then, He wrote something on the ground and then told them, " Let any one of you without sin be the first to throw a stone at her," and then returned to His writing on the ground. After He said this, one by one, each person set their stones down and left her there, until Jesus and the woman were all that was left. Jesus straightened up and said, " Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

"No one, sir," she said.

"THEN NEITHER DO I CONDEMN YOU," Jesus declared. "GO NOW AND LEAVE YOUR LIFE OF SIN."

So now, I want to talk about stone throwing and what it really means. So, stone throwing in Biblical times was the literal equivalent of capital punishment. Almost anything and everything that is considered breaking a commandment or decently unsavory usually resulted in being stoned to death. So... if almost (if not all) sin was rewarded with death, what makes your mistakes any less worthy of condemnation that the person that you yourself are condemning or refusing to forgive?

Let me remind you: WE are only allowed into the Kingdom because God LOVED us so much that He sent Jesus as a sacrifice to show us GRACE. A grace that we NEVER deserved. We have to mimic that love and grace when dealing with the people around us- because that's the best we can mirror and show God's love for them. Think about it this way- your unnatural love and forgiveness may be the only way they see Christ EVER- act accordingly.

Also, a lot of times grace and forgiveness is mistaken for weakness. I want to be the one that tells you today that this IS NOT the case. It takes someone iINCREDIBLY strong to forgive when people "don't deserve" it, but Christ did it. God does it. And they are the strongest of all.

So here's my challenge for you. DARE TO BE THE ONE TO PUT THE STONE DOWN. In a world where people are so quick to cast stones and attempt to destroy careers and lives and hold people to perfectionist standards that cannot be upheld... be the one to forgive. Be the one to understand. Be the one to show the love of God. Show UNNATURAL love. Show UNNATURAL kindness. Because I promise the minute that you do that, your worries will diminish. Those feelings of anger and malcontent will no longer hold you back and you will be truly at peace- no matter the circumstances. So, lovely people... put your stones down. Love each other. And know that I love y'all even more.