A county singer once sang the song, “You Have to Stand for Something”. The chorus went as follows:

“He’d say you’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything
You’ve got to be your own man not a puppet on a string
Never compromise what’s right and uphold your family name
You’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything.”

Though this was released in 1991 it definitely rings true today. What an important statement. Today it seems tough to stand for most anything that isn’t popular or accepted by the mainstream media. We stand by the statement “freedom of speech”,  and yet it appears that anyone who wants to speak up for traditional values is mocked and ridiculed as foolish, backward and not with the times.

 Freedom of speech is okay as long as no one is offended, as long as no one disagrees, as long as no one gets their feelings trampled on. One has to be EXTREMELY cautious or someone’s toes might get squashed with any given statement. What if it is not “politically correct”?

 But then, again, what if we stand for nothing and just live and let live?  I will tell you what will happen. The loudest will have their way.  And what you might hold as dear will be silenced.

In the days that we live it is imperative that if we stand strong. If we do not we will bend to every loud voice or whispering spirit that is popular or alluring. I think that most people have no idea what they believe anymore. There are so many different opinions that if you stop long enough and listen you might be tossed around like a kite on a windy day. And before long you’ll either get torn or stuck in a tree. You will either be trampled on or become so confused that you cannot remember what you believed.

Personally, as a believer, I have to stand on the Word of God. And as of late, probably because of the times we live, my heart is to seek to understand those words.

The Psalmist said, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:

To those that do not treasure “the Word” or are not believers it may seem foolish.

“The message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved.” 1 Corinthians 1:18

But you say, “How can you defend your lifestyle choices by quoting a Bible verse? What if people do not even believe its content?” This is my answer: YOU don’t have to believe. It’s a choice. I have faith to believe. That is what faith is about, believing without seeing. All I know is that the acceptance of God’s grace has given me a hope that I cannot describe.

The bottom line: all the books that came together from several authors after several years point to these statements:

1)You are loved by God, the creator of this world.
2) Sin separated us from God
3) Jesus came to break the power of sin through his death and resurrection so we can live eternally with the Lord.

Of course, we each have the right to believe however we choose, but to any person stating they are a believer, the word of God is the essence of life, water to a thirsty desert. There are times that the Bible tends to anger people and they probably don’t have any idea why.  Perhaps it brings a light to sin. Adam and Eve ran and hide after their sin was exposed. That is what people still do today; hide behind policy, hide behind law, hide behind their rights. Anything, just DO NOT expose my sin.

But strangely enough people hide from God but refuse to fear him. Instead people seem more fearful of man than of God. I have heard so many new voices. In fact I recently came across an article with a quote by an ex-pastor of a mega church. He states emphatically regarding the church’s stand on same-sex marriage  (which is now almost a taboo subject):

“..(the) church will continue to be even more irrelevant when it quotes letters from 2,000 years ago as their best defense..”.

He continues questioning other ideas from the Bible to make the Christian walk more appealing to the masses, such as questioning hell. Instead he states that God’s love will melt every soul eventually, even postmortem.

So we should just do what we want. There are no consequences in the end because after all, God is LOVE.

It’s true: God IS love…but what is love? Does it not stand for anything? On the contrary, God’s love is so powerful that he does not want anyone to die in their sin. He isn’t a pansy who eats cotton candy and rides unicorns and says all is well, live and let live la..la…la…la. The fact is: God loves us SO much that he sent his son to die for those sins, he went to hell in our place and took the keys of sin and death from our enemy.

THAT IS LOVE!

And though he is love, and his gift of salvation is free (he already paid the price.) we need to be careful how we tread on this earth and honor the price he paid. Apostle Paul states in his letter to the Philippians,

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Philippians 2:12

This isn’t a horror flick fear, this is” I respect and honor and trust you” kind of fear. A fear that knows someone greater than me has my best interest at heart. God is filled with mercy but expects us to live a life of right standing. As children we obeyed our parents because we  “knew better”. We feared or respected their decisions, knowing they still loved us. In fact they loved us enough to keep us from making foolish choices that would eventually destroy us.

I choose to believe that God is love and God is fear and God is mercy and God is judgment. His word holds truth. His word holds hope. His word is a guide to keep us from the broad path of destruction.

So though it isn’t popular to stand for righteousness these days, I choose to stand anyway, not that I am righteous, but that He is.

Who do you fear? Where do you stand?