Time to take a stand

Vibrant Life, May-June, 2005 by Charles Mills

I'm constantly amazed at how wimpy we are. Yes, wimpy! We're far too forgiving, far too lenient, far too accepting. We allow people and companies to walk all over us, and we simply take the abuse as if it's our destiny.

Guess what? It is our destiny, unless we stop being wimpy.

The other day an employee of our local grocery store was sitting by the open door of the establishment smoking his favorite brand of coffin nails. My wife and I had to walk through a blue haze of second-hand smoke just to enter the building. Well, I straightened my shoulders, looked the guy right in the eye, and said in a firm but polite voice, "Excuse me, sir. You shouldn't be doing that. You're endangering the health of your customers with your cigarette smoking." He immediately stood and moved away from the entrance, mumbling an apology as he went. Same thing happened a few days later at a department store.

These days, when we confront people who are endangering our lives with their habits--be it smoking, alcohol, drugs, or even the fertilizer they put on their lawns, they're fully aware of what they're doing. They can't act dumb because the evidence that condemns their actions is just too compelling and available.

Christ was anything but wimpy. He wasn't afraid to stand up for what He knew to be right, even if doing so earned Him a few sneers, a lot of rejections, and a cross. He was always kind, always respectful, but never complacent. People recognized that even in His most forceful moments He was deeply in love with the sinners He chastised. Should we, His followers, be any different?

So be brave, Vibrant Life reader. Stand up for your right to live in a clean, healthy environment. I believe it's time to make this planet a better place for everyone who lives here.