neither door mat nor mud thrower

Tuesday May 31st, 1 Peter 3: 13-18 If with heart and soul you're doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you're still better off. Don't give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. I am a political junkie, and I am fed up with our political process that draws the best among us to the lowest level of the collective “us.” Then I think, why should I expect one of the candidates to be better than the rest of humanity. Whether we are talking about Syria or the Ivory Coast or Madison or the US, those who run for office are all subject to being human. Throwing mud or throwing bullets come from the same human frailty of getting caught up in the tactics of the other. We have met the enemy and he is us is the way Pogo put it. Jesus calls us to a third way, neither door mat nor mud thrower, but rather someone who actively helps put the spotlight on injustice, our focus on caring for the least lost and lonely, and it is there God helps bring about change in our lives and in the world.