The best of conversations begin when we remember we are speaking to human beings. That’s not always easy to do, and you my friends know that. I’ve been known to spin a time or two and I’ve stopped short of ripping out a person’s jugular too frequently for my own comfort. Stuffing my feelings doesn’t work either. Silence can be interpreted as approval. My Your Church Sucks post has been receiving a lot of hits. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but I hope it at least gives us a chance to step back and think about what we say, why we say it and who we’re impacting when we say it.

Contrary to popular belief, broad strokes and generalizations do actually hurt people. We are communal and relational in nature. It’s how God created us. We relate to our groups. We are one with our groups. Trash my school, my company, my family, my church and you are trashing me.

I’m not looking to solve that here — we all have choices whether or not to respond, or how we respond. We have the choice whether or not to take offense and while I do at times take offense like it’s free candy, I can also choose to release it and move on.

This weekend I heard several great quotes that fit so snuggly that I think God is trying to tell me something.

1. If you are not part of the problem then you are not part of the solution. (not talking social conscience here, I’m referring to interfering with other people’s lives and issues. Like don’t get in the middle of a cat fight, that sort of thing.)
2. Is this really your business? Not everything on this planet is my business. I know, whoda thunk, hunh?
3. Don’t wrestle with pigs, you’ll get dirty and they like it. via Micheal Hyatt. Very timely post.
4. You can’t  teach a pig how to sing; it’ll just make them mad and frustrate you. from my friend Randy.

What sayings do you have that remind you to watch out when getting sucked into a mess we might not need to be in?