Commit. Activate. Live it. Create.
During the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King asked the members of the movement to sign a Commitment Card where they pledged themselves in mind and body to adhere to follow ten commandments of non-violence. He asked them to meditate daily on the teachings and life of Jesus, to pray daily to be used by God in order that all men might be free, to seek to perform regular service for others and for the world, and more. We must follow MLK's example and commit to a code and stand up for what we believe.
But before you stand up you MUST know what you believe. I teach teenagers at Sunday School. The other week, we were doing a study and I asked them, what does this scripture tell us? It was about one of the prophets standing up and the people rejecting and then killing him. They told me it meant you have to stand up for what you believe in. I told them they are missing a step. Before you can stand up for what you believe in, you have to know what you believe and then still before just knowing it, you have to make a declaration. The first step in fixing our country is committing to a higher calling. You must know the values and principles that you are representing when you make your stand and you must commit to them. You can't just say "Oh, I believe in so and so", you really need to take it a step further. It's why MLK gave out Commitment Cards that his followers had to sign.
The next step is to stop finger pointing! What separates us from the left? We don't blame others for our problems. We succeed or fail on our own merit. We don't want handouts, and we don't blame the "other guy" when things go wrong.
The third step is to take on personal responsibility. If we want to change things, we have to take it upon ourselves to take action. We can't wait for others to do it, it's up to us.
Last summer, I put together a Declaration of Rights and Responsibilities a document that I believe is the "code" of the movement that we are leading right now to take back our country. Below are four of the ten tenets:
1. Because I have the right to choose, I recognize that I am accountable to God and have the responsibility to keep the 10 commandments in my own life. 2. Because I have the right to worship as I choose, I have the responsibility to honor the right of others to worship as they see fit. 3. Because I have freedom of speech, I have the responsibility to defend the speech of others, even if I strongly disagree with what they're saying. 4. Because I have the right to pursue happiness, I have the responsibility to show humility and express gratitude for all the blessings I enjoy and the rights I've been given.
You can read the rest HERE. |
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