Daily Verse | Matthew 4:17
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

Tuesday’s Reading: Matthew 5-7

Happy Tuesday, my friends. “Civil war” is an oxymoron, just like “old news” and “only choice” and “deafening silence.”

There seems to be a mini-industry built around the art of not caring what others think. Just a brief perusal of the titles available on amazon.com support that theory, such as:

• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
• The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck: How to Stop Spending Time You Don’t Have with People You Don’t Like Doing Things You Don’t Want to Do
• How To Not Give A F*ck In Ten Easy Steps: The Modern Lay Person’s Guide To Enlightenment
• F*ck No!: How to Stop Saying Yes When You Can’t, You Shouldn’t, or You Just Don’t Want To

I haven’t read any of these books, but I’ve learned the lesson of their titles over the course of my life. I was born a pleaser (and still display some natural tendencies to be that), which meant that I cared a lot about what others thought about me when I was younger. That meant that I often subordinated what I thought or felt in favor of what others thought or felt so that I could avoid conflict and stay in their good graces. No one wants to be on the “outs” with other kids or friend groups.

Caring what others think meant that I was susceptible to being swayed by popular opinion or given to pretense. Being pretentious takes energy and, after a while, I got tired of pretending to fit in or trying to be someone I wasn’t (usually the person I thought would be accepted by the group I was eager to join).

It took being burned by someone I thought was a better friend than he turned out to be to really accelerate my conviction not to give a rat’s patootie.

In other words, I no longer care what others think about me. To use the (admittedly non-Christian) nomenclature above, I don’t give a f*ck.

Just to be clear, when I say I don’t care what others think, I’m not saying that it’s okay to be a jerk. I’m also not saying that we shouldn’t listen to feedback or others’ points of view. Some people might conclude that not caring what others think means they can disregard basic civility or relational duty.

But holding uncompromising convictions does not mean you can’t be kind or polite. I’m not advocating barbarism.

What I’m saying is that I no longer allow myself to be swayed by others’ opinions of me and my personal convictions just to fit in. You don’t like what I believe? You don’t like what I said? Boo hoo for you.

There’s great freedom in that.

Not caring what others think is actually biblical. After the apostles Peter and John were hauled in before the rulers, elders and teachers of the law, they were told not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. They declined the directive.

“Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:18-20)

They were not interested in winning friends and influencing people at the highest levels of political and religious power. They were not intimidated or fearful of the Jewish leaders, but held fast to their convictions. They didn’t cower, didn’t cave, didn’t subordinate their knowledge of Jesus to the demands of the most powerful religious group in Israel. They didn’t try to fake it or compromise with the Jewish authorities; they simply carried on with what they believed (and knew) to be true.

The reason I’m writing about this is that when it comes to the commie takeover of America, we need to develop strong political convictions based on biblical principles, common sense, and the founding principles of the United States of America.

For instance,

• I don’t care if other people think I shouldn’t call Democrats the political enemies of freedom. They are.
• I don’t care if other people think I’m racist for wanting English to be our national language.
• I don’t care if other people think I’m xenophobic or racist for pointing out that we have no southern border and that we’re watching the white population be displaced by “the browning of America.”
• I don’t care if other people think I’m deplorable for liking historical American culture.
• I don’t care if other people think I’m hateful for not playing along with the fiction that a biological male can be a woman just because he says he is and demands I acknowledge him as such.

We can’t allow ourselves to be intimidated by the mob. When BLM yells, “America is racist!” we have to hold firm to our conviction that it’s not and refuse to budge an inch. We are too easily cowed by the loudest voices in society and we’re losing our country to them.

Not caring what others think can be isolating, too. You may be rejected for the convictions you hold.

Still, resist the lies.

Develop a spine.

Hold firm to the truth.

And don’t give a f*ck rip what others think.