To Add to a Saying

Growing up in the middle of the Bible Belt, one of the things people often said was "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." It was a warning, of course, that it was best to plant your feet firmly in a system of beliefs (theirs) or the world would take advantage of you.

This is what I observe in the world around me, an alteration of the expression. "If you stand for something, you will fall for anything so long as someone frames it in a way that makes it appear to align with what you stand for." 

Every day, I see people believing things that are blatantly untrue. They don't listen to you when you point out the lies. They don't research anything themselves. They just go along with whatever meme or article they posted because they think it aligns with what they stand for. 

For example, a lot of the folks who see themselves as Christians are so happy about the coach who can now pray in public at the public games. They see this as a victory for Jesus. 

But what did Jesus actually say about this issue? 

A lot of the time, people have to make guesses about how Jesus would feel about certain things, but in this case, he was quite clear.

In summary of Matthew 6:5-8, Jesus basically taught, “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men … but when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen.”

This wasn't an idle moment of teaching. Jesus fully well understood the harm that prideful and self-righteous public prayer could cause. He also knew that a relationship with God should, most of the time, be a private and deeply connected situation. 

In the wake of this SCOTUS ruling, I've seen some of the more serious and learned Christians post about these verses. I've seen people in the comments argue with them about it. They literally argue with people over verses that are quite clear in their meaning.

They argue with them because they have been duped and swindled so hard by the post-Christian/AmericanGunTotingJesus crowd that they can't even see the truth for what it is.

Stand for something. Got it. But if you stand for something, remember that not everyone who claims they also stand for that something really does. 

Stand for something. Sure. But standing for something doesn't mean you can be intellectually lazy. Do ACTUAL research. Find out the truth for yourself. And not just at whatever news outlet aligns with your beliefs. Find neutral sources. 

Stand for something, but really understand what that SOMETHING is.