I was left puzzled when someone warned me to not “cast [my] pearls before swine.”
“What does that mean?” I thought.
It is a reference from Jesus (Matthew 7:6), and it does not literally mean that I should avoid tossing jewelry in front of pigs.
Jesus was saying that people should be careful when sharing holy things of their heart to certain others because they may “trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.”
The world is cruel.
Some people will only ask you questions about your belief so they can trap you in their argument.
People can also abuse your words and take them out of context. They might pick and choose certain words from your mouth without fully understanding your overall point.
And then some won’t understand the belief you offer because they don’t value or appreciate it the same way.
Even more saddening, it seems there are some who only want to discourage you.
I found it best to try to avoid arguments all together, as II Timothy 2:23-25 advises.
I honestly hate arguing about my beliefs because usually there is no good end result.
However, because I am a believer, I am called to preach the Gospel with patience and love (II Timothy 4:1-5), but preaching does not include arguing with another person over what is right. I’m only called to share the message with people; to offer my insight, not force it on them.
I, myself, cannot change people. The best I can do is “plant a seed” in a person’s heart (Mark 4:1-20). Only God is great enough to open up their hearts to him (II Timothy 2:25-26).
However, the Gospel will offend everyone who reads or hears it because we are all sinners who do not measure up to God’s glory (Romans 3:23).
I will not always share the Gospel in my column, but when I do, I feel passionate about it. I feel like my written words are a great way to channel it. Otherwise, my soft-spoken words may be lost or interrupted.
I invite you to write a column that opposes mine, if you disagree with my belief or views on other topics I write about.
The Forum is all about sharing people’s views on certain topics, but it’s also about respectfully disagreeing.
I feel like we can all agree that writing in the Forum is a much better option than physical violence.
Plus, the Forum seems more complete when opposing views are published side-by-side on the same day. Then you can really see the whole picture of students’ opinions.
Peter Parker’s uncle (from Spider-man) advised that “with great power comes great responsibility.”
I understand that saying every time I type my columns.
I understand the risk of getting attacked or receiving glares of contempt from anyone who spots me with my familiar green winter cap.
I try my best to put great care into my work, but I understand that there’s no way I can please everyone.
I could offend someone because of my biblical references. Someone else may think that my argument isn’t strong enough or is full of fallacies. My wording may be unclear, or, perhaps, I misuse an ambiguous term. Or maybe I’m just too ignorant about the world and its issues and trends to write about it.
I’m not going to let things like the examples above intimidate me.
I’m not going to let the voices in my head or from the outside influence my love of writing.
Even though I have to be cautious as to whom I may share my most cherished thoughts with, I will not be afraid to voice my insight for this newspaper.
I enjoy this job of being a columnist. I consider it an honor to be published and get feedback from editors and friends.
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