So the other day I filled my gas tank. I was at about a quarter tank and it cost $66 to fill it. I had done the same thing the previous week with roughly the same amount of gas and was between $50 and $55, so my expenses rose between $11 and $16 in one week. I have to admit I was flabbergasted. So much so, that I posted about it on Facebook. The response was interesting. A few people expressed empathy. Some came just short of suggesting I buy a Prius and suggested that giant trucks might not be the best choice right now. Now in past years, the only non-semi vehicles that cost that much to fill were the really big pickups. I don’t have one of those. Because of my traveling arts ministry, I drive a minivan. Others were quick to try to make what I said political, rushing to the defense of the people for whom they voted. My intent wasn’t politics, it was sticker shock.
I pulled the post. It wasn’t necessarily what I wanted to do. I wanted to rush to my own defense. I wanted to rail into my own opinions on the cause of all of this. I’ve spent most of my life as a cartoonist, and I am well in touch with the poison pen, but I’m also a minister of the Gospel and that is more important than proving my point, defending my bruised ego or skewering someone else’s argument. I could have added to the ugly but instead I realized I needed to guard my heart. Someone else took me to task for being silent on political matters. The thing is, I spent a lot of years trying to change people’s politics. It never worked. And then one day I came under conviction, politics is powerless to change hearts. Going political may satisfy my desire to be right, but it won’t bless anyone and it won’t point people to Jesus. I won’t lie. For me the temptation to whip out the poison pen is huge, but I wasn’t called to wield a poison pen. I was called to take up my cross. Does that mean I won’t speak out on things that are wrong? Absolutely not. The temptations are huge to lean on my own understanding. I need to guard my heart. How about you?
AMOKArts 