I’m Judging You

One of the things we all assume is that to function as an adult you have to make money, and to do that you have to get a job. Unless you’re a trust-fund baby. But one day, we realize that one (or a couple) of our friends seemingly have jobs, and yet no one knows what they do. We try our best to get clues from them, and they never give us a straight answer.

Again, they might have done nothing to you personally, but like Mother Maya Angelou says, “When people show you who they are, believe them.”

There are far too many people whose very survival is an act of revolution as they remain here against all odds.

Shirley Chisolm said, “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” Some of us are mad delinquent on this rent. We owe back pay, but that’s okay. We just need to start now. We can start doing better any time we want.

You are a fully grown thirty-five, and three dates has turned you into a middle schooler? Bless your heart.

Don’t treat your gay friends as accessories. Don’t use or stay silent when someone else uses derogatory language.

Hashtags have become weapons of mass annoyance, and I want us all to do better so we don’t look back on our writing and wonder why no one pulled us to the side.

For example, if the goal of science is to study patterns in systems, and spirituality is a belief in a master architect, couldn’t it be possible that the creator designed patterns in nature for you and I to understand creation better?

When I am asked why I’m a Christian, I cannot give an answer that will convince anyone else to become one. I am not an evangelist. For me, faith is a lifeline. I think about my life, and I see something has ordered my steps: Someone has made sure I met the right people. Someone has allowed me to prosper in spite of myself. It must be so, because there are too many things I cannot explain. Because in my heart, I know I am a child of God. Because when I am brought to tears about my life, I need someone to glorify. Because I believe that I am a product of God’s grace and I hold that love doctrine to heart. Because when I hear music, I feel like it was divinely created. Because when I say a prayer I feel myself at ease in the world. I am a Christian because the idea of someone sacrificing their life for mine makes me swell with pride, and it lets me know that I am worthy.

I fear that too many of us think of giving back as an option instead of an obligation, and I judge some of us for not being brave enough to commit to being truly beneficent.