Repost: What Would Jesus Want US To Do?

Note - I originally posted this in April 2006. It's incredible that this seems even more true today. Enjoy and think about it...


I'm a Christian. Yep. I said it.

I know many people have bad feelings about religion(s), God, belief in God and Christians. Some of it comes from very painful memories and experiences. And, as a Christian, I'm sorry. The things some of you have had to endure under the guise of "Christianity" are horrific at best. It doesn't seem right; you know it wasn't right. And you're right.

Some people like to rail because it's the cool thing to do. To those people, I'd ask that they think about what they say. It's one thing to have experience rejection or hurt from a supposed follower of Christ; it's another thing to rail against the government and hit well meaning people in your crossfire.

There are days I'd have to admit I'm ashamed to admit I am Christian. Not because I believe in and love Christ... but because my brothers and sisters who have made such loud proclamations without compassion. These are the people who hook themselves to an issue and don't bend. They get in bed with Big Government and want a Taliban-like theocracy.

I don't pretend to be Super-Christian, but I can see the viper in the bed. Government and others in power have compromised the message and have given power to those who say they follow Christ, but actually follow world power. These people innocently believe, at first, that anyone who professes belief in Christ to be honest and loving. Many of these people have no time for the grays; only black and white.

And you know what? The problem doesn't lie with those people. You heard me right. The problem lies with those Christians that have not stood up and spoken out against the ridiculous shouting of a frightened group of people.

I think it is time for compassionate Christians to take back their name.

How do we do this? One only has to look to the new testament to find out what Christ would have us do (Matthew 25:31 - 46):

Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Welcome the strangers
Tend to the sick
Clothe the naked
Visit the prisoners

This is love in action.

And I believe that it is not enough to say what is wrong; in fact, in a lot of instances, it is not our place. If we Christians could concentrate on just these six areas that Christ himself spoke about, I can't help but believe this world would be that much closer to heaven. Even many of those who do not believe but have compassionate hearts could not argue with this line of thinking.

Will there be mistakes made? Probably; we are human. But I'd rather make a mistake out of love than indifference and intolerance.

Is it safe? Hell no. But it has been mentioned to me that a comfortable Christian is not Christian at all. To follow Christ is very radical; no doubt many would have a very hard time leaving their comfortable lives behind. I still struggle with it.

But I believe that practicing Love In Action will give me a joy that no creature-comfort could ever give me. I won't be in the position of judging others... I'll be loving others.I won't be above others... I'll be with others, attempting to bring heaven a little closer to the here-and-now.

Doug

New Designs! Get Well Flowers at Doug E. Shirts

Flowers on the hospital tray. A hopeful greeting of love and hope. Cheer up your friend or loved one and encorage them to get well with your own words with this Doug E. Shirts design on a card, postcard or one of the other fine Zazzle products.


Make a personalized gift at Zazzle.

Brothers Are Everywhere Men's Dark T-Shirt from Doug E. Shirts & Zazzle.com

Brothers Are Everywhere Men's Dark T-Shirt from Zazzle.com

Design Spotlight!

Brothers are everywhere. And you can remind people of that fact by wearing the tee or hat (or both!). Anyone can wear this anywhere... the mall, on a trip, the White House or even the moon!

Chad Vader : Day Shift Manager - The Date

One of the funniest series on YouTube is Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager by Blame Society Films. Chad has a famous, more-accomplished brother (guess who!), while he toils as a struggling supermarket manager.

I have many laugh-out-loud moments watching this. You should get quite a few laughs out of this and the many other offerings from Blame Society Films!

Books I'm Reading: Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0: 1,001 Unconventional Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Landing Your Dream Job

I'm Doug and I'm currently unemployed. Sure, I have the great Doug E. Shirts at Zazzle site, but I don't get the medical benefits with that. So, like a lot of people nowadays, I'm looking for a job. And I'm finding that job hunting has changed in the last ten years, so I figured I would get some "new thinking" from Jay Conrad Levinson and David E. Perry in their book Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0: 1,001 Unconventional Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Landing Your Dream Job (longest. title. ever.). My copy is a Kindle version and revised. I'm looking for ideas to jump-start my job search and ideas to possibly strengthen the marketing of my Zazzle store.

Chapter 2 is all about personal branding, guerrilla style. The following is a summarization that applies the themes to my job hunt as well as the marketing for my Zazzle store.

-Effective Branding is About Selling what Matters

This section helps you determine your marketable skills and find the achievements that prove those claims. Documenting those achievements with more than bullet points, highlighting how you saved your employers money or provided value is key.

Job Hunt: Intellectually, it's common sense to list my skills, but I need to have a sense of how it benefits my potential employer and put into writing.
Zazzle Store: The take-away is promoting myself a little more (okay, a LOT more) on my store's landing page and provide a sense of value for my products.

- Attitude Check

Employers need to see a positive, "can-do" attitude. Many people would rather hire a positive candidate with some skills that a person that is very qualified with a poor attitude. Someone who doesn't fall apart from setbacks but learns from them.

Job Hunt: I have to project an authentic positive "I want to be here" attitude with my resume, cover letter and style.
Zazzle Store: For me, this means being welcoming at my store and offering to go the extra mile with my customers.

To be continued...

PINK BUNNY BLUE DOG IPAD CASE KENNETH SHAW from Zazzle.com

PINK BUNNY BLUE DOG IPAD CASE KENNETH SHAW from Zazzle.com

Kenneth Shaw is an artist and animator from Los Angeles, California. His designs are delightful, fun and crisp. Check out his store here.

Bill Gates: How state budgets are breaking US schools | Video on TED.com

Bill Gates: How state budgets are breaking US schools | Video on TED.com

I found this fascinating and compelling. The fact that state and town budgets are not simple enough for the regular person to follow, thus allowing our representatives to do accounting that is so wrong should be a crime. Please check out this video.