To be kind does not mean you must put your pronouns in your bio.
To be compassionate does not mean you must genuflect daily because of your privilege, real or perceived.
To be loving does not mean you must abandon your deeply held convictions to appease a crazy person.
To be a good citizen does not mean you must inject something into your body that you don’t want to inject.
To stand with a woman does not mean you must be for the dismemberment of the life in her womb. Quite the opposite actually.
Sometimes just being who you are is the ultimate act of kindness.
Sometimes opposing someone is the most compassionate thing you can do for them.
Sometimes making someone uncomfortable is the best way to love them.
Sometimes refusing the status quo is the best way to serve your community.
And sometimes, being hated by some (or many) is not such a bad thing.
I learned from my Jewish brothers and sisters that the Jewish Sages teach that 80% of the Hebrews died in Egypt. Only about 20% actually made it in the great Exodus.
And of that 20% that were liberated from Egypt, only Joshua and Caleb made it into the Promise Land (Numbers 14:28-30). The rest of their generation died in the wilderness. Millions of people. Two families.
Sometimes, simply living your life will feel contrary and upstream. That is not always a bad thing.
“Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.”
Luke 6:26
Powerful!