John Moorehead's Thoughts

[Pizzaguy]

I have this young (about 30) friend, John Moorhead who lives near Nashville. He's a fine Christian man, married to a wonderful girl and owns a Graphite SRT6 Coupe that he races (and wins) for fun!

I'd never have met this guy, were it not for the Crossfire Car club I'm in. Well, he posted his thoughts on Facebook a day or two ago and the post is going viral. I thought I'd post his thoughts here. He says that he was getting irritated with someone, and then examined his thoughts and came to a conviction.

Every person you meet -- every. single. person. -- has a story behind them. Each person is grappling with their own unique struggles, temptations, vices, and weaknesses. Every person has their own unique doubts; either about themselves, their job, their family, their self-worth... the list goes on. We all present this facade to each other as if we have our act together... we walk around with a bravado that suggests invincibility. But each person has a story that guides their inner thoughts. Each person has a vulnerability, an external influence on them that has made them hesitate before showing their TRUE feelings to you, before being at ease with being themselves.

In all that you do, tear down those walls. Present yourself as a person FREE OF JUDGMENT, a person that can willingly and openly accept them as they are, so that you may enjoy the purest form of that person. Be a person that is worthy of someone's complete trust -- because such an honor is a rare thing to have these days. Be a "go-to" person for as many people as you can -- because when the going gets tough, they will be there for you and will be just as honest, just as true, just as valuable. Such honest and genuine friendship is the greatest gift in the world.

 

[Mike S]

I have this young (about 30) friend, John Moorhead who lives near Nashville. He's a fine Christian man, married to a wonderful girl and owns a Graphite SRT6 Coupe that he races (and wins) for fun!

I'd never have met this guy, were it not for the Crossfire Car club I'm in. Well, he posted his thoughts on Facebook a day or two ago and the post is going viral. I thought I'd post his thoughts here. He says that he was getting irritated with someone, and then examined his thoughts and came to a conviction.

Every person you meet -- every. single. person. -- has a story behind them. Each person is grappling with their own unique struggles, temptations, vices, and weaknesses. Every person has their own unique doubts; either about themselves, their job, their family, their self-worth... the list goes on. We all present this facade to each other as if we have our act together... we walk around with a bravado that suggests invincibility. But each person has a story that guides their inner thoughts. Each person has a vulnerability, an external influence on them that has made them hesitate before showing their TRUE feelings to you, before being at ease with being themselves.

In all that you do, tear down those walls. Present yourself as a person FREE OF JUDGMENT, a person that can willingly and openly accept them as they are, so that you may enjoy the purest form of that person. Be a person that is worthy of someone's complete trust -- because such an honor is a rare thing to have these days. Be a "go-to" person for as many people as you can -- because when the going gets tough, they will be there for you and will be just as honest, just as true, just as valuable. Such honest and genuine friendship is the greatest gift in the world.

Willingly and openly accepting others and being free of judgement is good...most of the time. It is, after all, their quirks and imperfections that make are friends interesting. But not every imperfection is worthy of overlooking for acceptance. As Christians we do have to be discriminating about beliefs and behavior, and therein lies the rub, doesn't it? Where is that line between acceptable and unacceptable Christian beliefs and behavior?

 

[Jethro Bodine]

Willingly and openly accepting others and being free of judgement is good...most of the time. It is, after all, their quirks and imperfections that make are friends interesting. But not every imperfection is worthy of overlooking for acceptance. As Christians we do have to be discriminating about beliefs and behavior, and therein lies the rub, doesn't it? Where is that line between acceptable and unacceptable Christian beliefs and behavior?

It's a great post for sure, but along with learning to be 'human', and not propping up false perceptions of myself to others, I have also learned to be discerning when it comes to being vulnerable to others. Some people really will eat you alive if you expose various weaknesses and vulnerabilities about yourself to them. Particularly true of unbelievers who are already on the defensive in regard to things like character and relish the opportunity to show you, the professing Christian, to be no better than they are.

Not to knock the post, Pizza. Generally speaking it should be a very purposeful part of the Christian's life to be real, and recognize and accept reality in other people's lives. Just do it in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. For example, I do NOT confess my sins to unbelievers, except if they are the victim of my sin. And even among believers I am very careful who I am openly honest to in regard to my failures and vulnerabilities.