#practice what you preach

[tha-wrecka-stow]

[aurademortt]

Testament's "PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH" hand-painted on Álvaro’s leather vest. Original artwork made by William Benson.

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[kittenfangirl20]

This pro Jedi blog says that Jedi Critical people should stop demanding people accept their views, but they went on my Jedi Critical post in order to argue with me, practice what you preach. Just because you like the Jedi doesn’t mean others will.

[crepuscularpete]

[thedeathwitchescats]

Dont you just love when your chronic illness chronic illnesses

[maybe-im-dark]

PSA

I didn't think i would have to do this, but apparently i do. Please, for the love of god, DON'T write Hugh Jackman smut! Or at least don't publish it! Do whatever you want with Wolverine that's a fictional character. But Hugh Jackman is an actual human being. He's 55 years old and has two children! What if they stumble upon this stuff? And don't you tell me that there's tags to hide it, stuff can always get shown to people regardless of the tags! Now imagine yourself finding a post where your parent is having sex with reader meaning yeah YOU! Talk about him being sexy, talk about how you wish he would do so much as to breathe in your general direction, all fine. But goddammit, writing what is essentially porn about a real person when you know this person has children who are active on social media and can find this? You guys are so offended everytime a celebrity is disrespected and then you do THIS? Practice what you preach, guys! And save the horny for the characters, not the people who portray them! Because really nobody of us knows what Hugh Jackman is really like in his private life and it's none of our business!

[sordidamok]

This is why the Christian-nationalists are fighting so hard. Their ability to dominate US politics is collapsing.

If they actually practiced the teachings of Jesus, they'd be good neighbors and valuable members of their communities. People would be happy to have them around.

[theprincientist]

Slow Progress/No Progress: Practice what you preach - Accountability Check

Efforts that do not produce immediate results compound into life changing events.

Two years ago I started my skincare routine. It took a year to see results, but right now my skin looks smooth, glowing and beautiful.

My confidence skyrocketed and I only use concealer and eyeshadow - by choice - because I don't need anything else.

A year ago I started making efforts into changing my sleep schedule.

For over 5 years I had my day and night upside down, and it was really impactful on my life experiences.

I missed events, occasions and job opportunities over something I could 100% control but didn't have the tools to change myself.

After months and months of strategy planning and so much research, I finally have a routine I am proud of.

Up by 7. Sleep by 00:00.

My life has changed. I am more active, more friendly and healthier. ❤️

Two years ago I also started taking care of my finances.

I was broke most of the time, but I paid off every debt, and every big expense that needed to be taken cared of.

I fixed old health issues, I went to the dentist, I fixed my computer. Put every penny into things that needed fixing.

Now my money is for me. I managed to cut off all the big expenses to small ones and I'm enjoying the benefits.

I'm planning trips, going to events and eating out. All this while healthy.

But it took sacrifice. 2 years of seeing others "do better" and enjoying while I was home. But keeping the end result in mind helped so much.

Right now I'm working on my blog. I started on March 2022, but took a break a month later to regroup and came back strong in August making consistent effort since.

Right now I see over 2000 visitors and I know many more will come.

I just saw a YouTube video of a young woman that turned her blog into 6 figure business in 2 years.

So who know what will happen in 2024.

This was not A celebration post. But, I do feel good 🥺

So much has changed in 2 years.

This is to tell you that sometimes we look at people who have achieved certain things and we want the same for us. But we don't know how much work it took to get there.

We are not putting in the same effort.

Someone will look at my life and say I got it all figured out, but I'm still learning.

And it took me years to get here. Years of working on myself. To change something so simple like my skincare routine or my sleep schedule.

I don't romanticise struggle. Specially if you're poor.

But the reality is, if you don't have money, you have to put in time and effort.

Start small. Be consistent. Efforts will compound to life changing experiences.

- The Princientist

[exvangelicalrage]

Nobody Practices What They Preach

6/8/23

A couple of years after my Exit, I remember having a brief conversation with my mom where I mentioned my disappointment at the behavior of some local pastor who was caught up in a scandal and had to leave their church. I mentioned that christians always talk about how good and well-behaved and holy they are, but then you find out it was all a lie. 

My mom replied, in a very patient and tolerant tone of voice, "christians sin too. We are human, just like everybody else." 

And that was it. As if that answer was enough: "christians sin too."

But the problem is, christians don't talk like they're "just people." They say they've been “chosen by god.” They say they're right. They say they Know, with a capital K, what is right and wrong. 

"In the world but not of it," they proclaim, which is just code for "We're better than you. We are heaven bound. Whatever happens here on earth is meaningless in the grand scheme of eternity. But you non-christians? You are sinful. Earthly. Bound for hell. And we don't associate with the hell bound." 

They've drawn a line in the sand. Us vs them. Me vs you.

It's worse when you look at christian leadership. I watched the Hulu documentary about Jerry Falwell Jr. the other day, and the one about Hillsong the weekend before that. I was a little disappointed when I finished. I thought these tell-alls were going to be shocking. Eye-opening. Mind-blowing.

But the reveals were not particularly surprising. 

Doesn't everyone know pastors abuse children? And have sexual dalliances outside their marriage? And are willing to engage in all sorts of unethical behaviors to "further the will of god," whatever they decide that to mean?

I mean, it's great to have proof. And yes, please, hold predators and criminals accountable, destroy their reputations and lives, and take away the power they wield. Whether or not they're christian. I'm a fan of all that.

But I also know that when you eliminate one predator, there will always be another to take their place.

I was around 8 years old when the pastor of my childhood church got booted for having an affair. I remember it distinctly.

"What is happening?" I asked my mom. Everyone at church was in a hubbub that morning.

"Pastor Hall got caught holding hands with a lady who wasn't his wife," my mom told me.

I didn't see why that was such a big deal at the time, of course. Holding hands wasn't that bad, was it? But apparently this time, it had been catastrophic. It divided the church. People left. We left. 

I imagined Pastor Hall at a coffee shop, innocently holding hands with some kind woman while eating a snack. I spent many years quite confused about the whole thing. I was much older before I realized what had actually happened.

Then, the youth pastor in the same church got booted for getting a divorce. Then a pastor at nearby church got kicked for having "a big ego" which most certainly was a cover story for something else. This is all in a 10-mile radius in a rural part of upstate New York. At churches I attended in some capacity. That my friends went to. 

Naturally, I grew up intensely distrustful of pastors, especially male pastors, and anyone in a leadership position in church. Not because I personally experienced any specific abuse, but because I knew that any of them could be a snake.

They even preached it! "A wolf in sheep's clothing" could be anywhere. Anyone. Even one of them.

After all, "christians sin too." 

This particular idea sparks a very specific rage in me. "christians sin too," isn't just some one-off thing my mom said. According to most protestant ideologies, it's a foundational component. Everybody is a sinner. But! jesus' blood covers all sins. If you sin, even after being born again, all you have to do is repent and you will be forgiven. You should strive for perfection, of course, but if you don't attain it, no worries. Repentance to the rescue! Even the catholics have a framework for it: confess and do penance. Then some magic happens... and you're cleansed!

It's a free pass to be a hypocrite. 

You can a.) become a christian, b.) not follow christianity at all, and c.) still get to heaven by merely repenting!

Even in the last moments of your life, if you repent with your very last breath... saved!

No accountability necessary. No amends necessary. Doesn't matter how much harm you've caused to other people. Doesn't matter if you've murdered or raped or exploited people. It doesn't matter the nature, frequency, or intensity of the crimes you've committed.

There's a single, easy out: simply ask god for forgiveness. 

Even Hitler could be in heaven if he repented before he died. Even genocide is covered by the blood of jesus.

This basic, foundational element of the christian ideology turns out to be a convenient loophole not only for committing grievous offenses against other people, but for consolidating and maintaining power and money as well. 

How else would a guy like trump get the support of evangelical christians? He's one of the least christian-behaving people on the fucking planet! He's had too many wives, has sex scandals galore, committed pretty much every sin in the book, is a jackass of epic proportions—and not to mention, you know what the bible says about rich guys? Easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich guy to get to heaven.

But when you're christian, it's easy to overlook that stuff. You know why? Because you don't have to believe that he's a good guy. You don't have to believe that he's never fucked up. You don't have to believe that he's holy, moral, or the epitome of a righteous man. 

All you have to believe is that he has repented. That's it.

And if he messes up again? Easy. He just has to repent again. He's sorry for harassing women. He's sorry for mocking disabled people. He's sorry for stealing classified documents, trying to subvert democracy, and inciting an insurrection. After all, god forgives everybody, you know. No exceptions.

Now imagine you're on the board of directors at a megachurch. You discover that one of your leaders had committed [insert grievous sin here]. Does he express repentance? Maybe even shed a few tears? Then you're golden. As god forgave him, so can you. You pray for him, instruct him not to fuck up again, and sweep the scandal under the rug, everyone outside this small group none the wiser. 

Because, as you know, "christians sin too. They're only human, after all." 

The thing is, nobody practices what they preach perfectly. It doesn't matter if we're talking about christians or buddhists, social justice warriors or school administrators. There's a reason parents and teachers like to toss around the aphorism, "Do what I say, not what I do." Because they know they're never going to behave perfectly in line with whatever ideology they espouse. 

And that's okay. We are all human. We're complex. Nuanced. And there are a million variables that impact our behavior—it's rarely as simple as a black and white, right/wrong choice. Sometimes it's impossible to know what the right choice is. Sometimes mental illness, trauma, society, cultural norms, confusion, brainwashing, and who knows what else influence us to make spur of the moment decisions that are harmful and go against what we profess to believe. Sometimes, it's as simple as our actions had a different outcome than intended. 

Ultimately, being a "good person" is not about being perfect. 

It's about taking responsibility for our choices. That's it.

And the christian ideology conveniently removes that. They don't have to take responsibility, because they've been cleansed—freed from sin!—by the blood of christ! hallelujah! (/sarcasm). All they have to do is repent. Quietly. In private. 

Redemption Unlocked. 

What about the people they've harmed? you might wonder. Like me?

Well, there's a convenient answer for victims too: Repent of your wicked ways, and jesus will lift your burden from you! He will heal your trauma (caused at the hand of another one of his followers, of course)! Fix your problems! And if he doesn't? Clearly you didn't repent good enough. It's your fault. When you're holy enough, god will bless you.

And the circle goes round. The abusers, manipulators, and predators harm and repent, harm and repent, confident they'll end up at the pearly gates when they die. They don't give a shit about their victims, because they know all the victim has to do is pray, and whatever pain or damage they experienced will be lifted, healed, repaired by the all loving, all knowing god who watches from on high.

 Nobody practices what they preach. Especially christians.

[worshipbeginsontheknees]

Shut your mouth. Stop talking. Nothing you say matters anyways tonight. Your words are wasted here and will fall on deaf ears. They are too loud and meant for the choir. Instead, I want to know forgotten words from an eager tongue. I want to give your busy mouth a purpose for once and suffocate every witty retort you think you possess at the source. I want the sensation of muffled complaints to reverberate through me as you write soliloquies with that pink muscle, precise as a pen and used just as frequently.

Stay on your back as my thighs cradle your face, my palms flat to the ground as my own song begins. Slide your hands over me and grasp needily to keep me seated against your mouth. Faster and faster you work, wanting to be heard one way or another. Harder I grind down on your pout, forgetting my manners. My thighs part wide as you latch on to that bundle of nerves.

You speak through me as I cry out for relief, giving you a new voice as my frustrations pour into you and you lap them up hungrily. I spiral from within and as I feel that warm gasp of breath, I know it will soon be my turn to take up such writings.

[flyinchanel]

Pray about everything doubt nothing, when you put your faith and love all in God you will have no worries nor stress because HE is leading you.

[hymnless-space-nugget]

A lot of people PREACH about diversifying your feed and “opening your mind” by following/tuning into POC, LGBT+, or female creators, yet DO NOT diversify their own feed by following/tuning into people with different opinions [i.e., Blaire White (trans woman), Jordan Peterson, Abby Shapiro (Jewish woman), Matt Walsh (father of 4-5 kids), etc].

WHICH, by doing so, you will open your mind further since you get to hear opinions or ideas that you, or anybody similar to you, probably won’t ever come up with. Sticking to what is comfortable, or what you know, is not diversity. Step out of your comfort zone. Practice what you preach and be inclusive of all people, maybe you’ll actually learn something.

I know I did. My eyes are more open than I ever thought they were thanks to tuning into content other than what is created solely by one community.

You’ll never grow as a person, or step closer to finding middle ground with others who think differently than you, if you never take the time to hear them out. Some people desperately want their opinions and “truths” to be heard and accepted, but isn’t that how everyone feels? Listen to people and you will be listened to.

If you keep pushing people away who have differing opinions/views, then you are part of the problem.

We are more alike than different.

It all starts with healthy discussions, focusing on middle ground, sticking to what is real, listening to concerns, finding where you agree, and going from there.

[that-ghostboy]

Nobody can see my braids or my durag but trust me they exist 😅 everybody in town sees them 🤣😎🥇

Im posting pics because I'm learning to love myself all over again. Trying to be more of a man. Started writing again, started eating better, started working out again. Still trying to stay working. Trying to get better about my sobriety.

I'm thankful not to be drinking tonight. I'm thankful for not being a felon. I'm happy to say I got this. Might have to get ones with my homie for my recent fuck ups but I'm ight lol

[irlkisukeurahara]

Some of you mfs will be like "fictives aren't their source!" But then will attach your entire identity and self worth to the fact you're a fictive, and only date fictives of your source partner, and view your sourcemates as their source instead of people, and say "___ fictives DNI", and--

[blissfullynumb]

𝙸 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝙴𝚅𝙸𝙻 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚘𝚏..

[bloomingpresent]

“My anxiety kicks at night”

Preach baby preach!

This mother chukker!