open-minded?

     Probably one of the things I grew up seeing, since high school the earliest to recent memory, was the whole concept of being open-minded. A good concept nonetheless, especially when it comes to learning and experiencing life as it comes. But what happens when you use that terms as an excuse to have no conviction?
     That's probably one of the problems I saw emerging as I have been living -- the people that I was engaging with, once in a while, many times, emphasized on being open-minded yet when you boil down to what convictions they have, uh, not much is there. Sure, the most constant thing we see happening in life is the inconsistency of things but where do we draw the line and say, "all things considered, this is what I believe and this is where I draw the line"?
     That's the problem I face when it comes to some churches and some movements i.e. Emergent church for example. Sure, Jesus spoke in parables but He also spoke some harsh words. The whole concept of just saying, "Jesus is truth" is nice but it loses meaning and purpose when no one opens up the discussion or have the balls to say, "what we mean by Jesus is truth is...". Relevancy is also becoming a sad, pathetic joke. I will quote my friend Larry on this, "the more secular and humanist the world shifts, the less relevant the church will be".
     Call me a right wing conservative to some degree if you will but the thought of parts of the body of Christ wanting to exchange truth in the name of relevancy and not offending people defeats the entire purpose. I recall Jesus saying that we'll be hated for His name's sake. Sorry Westboro Baptist Church but you don't qualify on that part since all you speak of is hate and anything but the call to draw close to Christ so that He may draw close to us. Sure, Proverbs mentions something along the lines of, "when a man's ways please the Lord, even his enemies will be at peace with him" but keep in mind, that isn't always the case.
     One thought did come to mind, of which I'll which I'll leave open for discussion, is this -- many times we want to call on God ask Him for help but often we forget the fact that before He can do anything, we do need to repent before His feet. I think that we've been so transfixed on getting, needing or wanting help for ourselves that we've forgotten that little thing called humility -- you know, that which makes us come before God and say, "Lord, before I even dare to ask for help, I want to confess that I've messed up a whole lot in my life. I'm sorry for all the times I ignored you completely and how it came down to this in order for me to turn to You. I humble myself in the here and now not only for help but more importantly forgiveness and cleansing". Don't remember who said it but he/she was right -- man, on his own, is quite vain and prideful.
     I, being a Christian by choice since 1998, refuse to sell out any ounce of my beliefs in the name of cultural relevancy, saving face with people or even as a means to make people happy. Do I rub my faith in people's faces? Not really -- there's a time to speak and share but there's a time to shut up and listen. There are stories of people dying to be told. Within many of these stories, there will be questions asked of which we may not have an immediate answer or an answer at all.
     There are still answers that, despite being a Christian, I don't have answers to nor answers that can simply be given. Like, why let the young ones be taken from this life instead of taking from us those who are ready to go or deserve to be taken? Why has he spared me from so much insanity in my life meanwhile a girl I really care about was forced to endure some really terrible things? Why do you heal x, y or z person but not heal a, b or c person? None of these questions are that simple to answer. Even after reading the book of Job, it doesn't answer everything.