Skip to main content

Unapologetically Unaltered — Faith Over Flags

Image
By

 


I am not confused about who I am. I am a Christian before I am anything else. Before a voter. Before a party affiliate. Before a talking point or a label.

I am unapologetically unaltered. That phrase matters to me because too many good people are allowing their hearts to be reshaped — not by Christ — but by outrage, fear, and loyalty to symbols that were never meant to save us.

The Saint of the Day is St. Apollonia, and she knew what was worth Dying For! St. Apollonia was tortured, humiliated, and threatened with death unless she renounced her faith. She did not bargain. She did not pivot. She did not “read the room.” She remained faithful — not to a movement, not to a crowd, but to Jesus Christ. She reminds us of an uncomfortable truth: faith that bends to pressure is no longer faith.

On one of the largest stages in the world, a simple truth was spoken: The only thing stronger than hate is love. That isn’t a political slogan. That’s the Gospel. Jesus did not defeat sin with rage. He did not conquer death with insults. He did not build His Church through division. He did it through sacrificial love. If our words, posts, and allegiances are producing more hatred than love, then something has gone off course.

A Necessary Disclaimer (Read This Slowly). Let me be very clear, because clarity is an act of charity. I am not trying to alienate anyone. I am not attacking my friends, my readers, or people of sincere political conviction. I know many faithful, thoughtful, and generous people who strongly align with Republican or Democratic ideals. This is not a call to abandon your conscience. This is a call to examine where your strength comes from. Because when political identity begins to shape our hearts more than Christ does, we have crossed a dangerous line.

Faith Is Not Red or Blue.  I do not place my trust in the Republican Party. I do not place my trust in the Democratic Party. I place my trust in Jesus Christ.

Political parties seek power.  Jesus calls us to surrender. Political parties thrive on division. Jesus prayed that we would be one. Political parties demand loyalty. Jesus demands love.

No elephant died for my sins. No donkey rose from the dead. Only Christ did.

The Only Party I Claim is the Human Party — formed in the image of God, redeemed by Christ, called to love relentlessly. A party where: Truth matters more than talking points. Grace outweighs outrage. Conviction never requires cruelty. Where we can disagree without dehumanizing.  Where we can stand firm without standing on someone’s throat.  Ask yourself this honestly:

Is my heart being shaped by Jesus… or by fear? By grace… or by rage? By the Cross… or by a flag?

St. Apollonia chose Christ over comfort. Jesus chose LOVE over power. May we have the courage to do the same.

Unapologetically.
Unaltered.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Inclusion - Giving Students What They Need to Succeed

By
I officially surrendered my man card the day I said, “I do,” back in 1987.  Apparently, there are no returns. Yesterday I wept in my office. Not the dignified, single-tear kind of weeping. I’m talking full-on, reach-for-the-Kleenex, thank-God-the-door-is-closed weeping. We had just told a parent—whose child is on the spectrum—that we believe in her son, and we want him to stay at our school. Those words cost us something. They cost planning. They cost resources. They cost energy. But they didn’t cost us our mission. And here’s the irony: this conversation came on the heels of another one where I had to tell a “potential family” that we didn’t believe our school was the right fit for their children. Same day. Same office. Same principal. Two completely different outcomes. If you’ve ever wondered whether there’s an internal battle between a principal’s head and heart, let me assure you—it’s not theoretical. It’s daily. And sometimes it’s exhausting. Like most of my blogs, there’s a b...
Post a Comment
Read more

On Humanity, Rumor, and the Discipline of Decency

By
Every so often, the world reminds us, sometimes gently, sometimes with a jolt, that God’s plan for us still runs through the old, unfashionable virtues: love, charity, humility, friendship. Not as slogans. As practices. Lately, the reminder hasn’t come through a clear, verified tragedy so much as through the way we react to rumor, outrage, and one another. In an age where headlines race ahead of facts and partisanship outpaces compassion, the simplest test of our humanity may be this: Do we refuse to cheer the suffering, real or rumored, of those we disagree with? I think about friendship across differences. Actor James Woods once said of director Rob Reiner that political differences never stood in the way of their love and respect for each other. Reiner fought for Woods when others wouldn’t. They worked together. They remained friends. That’s how it is in the real world, or at least how it should be. You don’t have to agree to stay human. I also think about families who live with add...
1 comment
Read more

Reigniting the Fire: From Embers to Flame

By
  There’s a moment in an interview with Michael Franti that’s stayed with me. He spoke about how a roaring fire, once reduced to embers, doesn’t need much to come alive again, just a gentle breath, a little attention, a whisper of wind. And suddenly, the flame returns. That image, embers waiting patiently for someone to believe in their potential, feels deeply personal. Franti once said, “I think of love as an action. Finding something that’s outside of yourself, to serve someone else’s soul, helping to ignite someone else’s spirit, to bring about ease of heart and joy, serenity in somebody else.” That quote reminds me that reigniting a fire, whether in us or in others, is about connection. It’s about showing up, listening, and offering warmth when someone feels cold inside. Not long ago, I found myself in a place I never expected to be. The fire inside me had dimmed. Life hadn’t knocked me down in one dramatic blow; it had chipped away, little by little. Leadership challen...
2 comments
Read more