{"id":8675,"date":"2021-05-25T10:50:38","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T10:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/runyourownwebsite.uk\/sorted\/?p=8675"},"modified":"2021-05-25T10:50:38","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T10:50:38","slug":"are-you-a-force-for-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runyourownwebsite.uk\/sorted\/are-you-a-force-for-good\/","title":{"rendered":"Are you a force for good?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Not so long ago, I attended a \u2018women only\u2019 meeting, at which a male church leader was invited to make a short introductory address. As he stood up from the main seating area and approached the microphone on the platform, there was considerable chatter in the room as the women settled down into their seats.<\/h2>\n

The male guest took the microphone in his hand and sternly shouted: \u2018Silence, ladies. There\u2019s a man speaking now!\u2019<\/p>\n

He was deadly serious, totally convinced of his authority over us \u2013 and no one challenged him.<\/p>\n

Is it right that a man, or anyone for that matter, can address a women\u2019s meeting in that way?<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, all of the women in the room instantly shut up! Myself included. But I\u2019m afraid my silence was caused more by shock and disbelief than by obedience to this bossy stranger. I found out later that other ladies were rightly cheesed-off about it. For moments like this don\u2019t happen in isolation. They accrue.<\/p>\n

Weapons<\/h3>\n

Some women demonstrate a knee-jerk reaction to this sort of control. Some are tired of being patronised, and maybe that anger is fuelling some of the unbalanced negative media narrative that is all around us that is fostering distrust, disunity and division between men and women. People dig in and become encamped on opposite sides, the battle lines are drawn, and desperate attempts are made to reclaim ground from one another. So nobody wins, and surely that can\u2019t be a good thing?<\/p>\n

Often, when social media is involved, people use their own words as weapons to squash the point someone else is making. At other times I notice they employ the words of others to shore up their own position.<\/p>\n

How many times have you heard conversations and discussions that open with the expressions \u2018they say\u2019, \u2018the media says\u2019, \u2018science says\u2019 and \u2018the Internet says\u2019? Even among Christians it is very common to hear somebody say \u2018the Bible says\u2019!<\/p>\n

Accrediting statements using these vague terms seems wishy-washy to me and I\u2019m left asking: who exactly made that claim\/declaration? When their identity has been established, my next move is to question their experience and credentials.<\/p>\n

My position may seem harsh but here it is: I don\u2019t take career advice from the long-time unemployed; I don\u2019t take relationship advice from the long-time friendless; and I don\u2019t take health advice from the long time unhealthy. In the fast moving world of social media, it\u2019s worth pausing to consider exactly who is issuing the statement we are about to imbibe.<\/p>\n

Other things to take into consideration include:<\/p>\n