Free-Falling

I graduate in December.   I am currently in the process of thinking, with Rich, about the prospect of grad school, starting a family, etc.  I am thoroughly enjoying learning and thinking and being put into situations that require much effort to put aside my own personal bias and work through the situation to decide what exactly is going on.  To be completely honest with my blog, this has been intensely overwhelming, for several reasons.  In order to do well within my studies, I have been forced to think outside of the box in which everything I was ever taught growing up resided. This has been tumultuous and trying at best.  I have welcomed discussion and challenging thoughts from professors and especially the challenges from my husband.  My biggest fear throughout this entire process (which I don't think will end EVER- the process, that is), is that I would change into something other than the person that my Hubby decided he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.  Now, if anyone reads this, I'm sure you are currently thinking (especially if you know Rich), that this is the most absurd thought that could have ever crossed my mind.  When I did finally admit this to Rich he very lovingly told me I was crazy. HA!  He then went on to reassure me that he completely supports my education, as far as I want to go whether that is just receiving a BA or if that means getting Ph.D after Ph.D!  I know he was trying to lighten my somber mood and this in one of MANY reasons why I love him.  I say all of this to admit that I am terrified of the journey that I have decided to embark on, but I am fearful that if I do not take such a journey, I will remain ignorant of my own faith and will take every experience in the past two years for granted.  God has blessed me more than I could ever know, from my wonderfully caring and supportive parents and sister who have always loved me (there was never any inkling of a doubt about this), to struggling through poverty with my husband the first few years of marriage (which we are still in, and completely content with), to moving us to Oklahoma even though this was the scariest decision we have ever made and showing us that even though Rich's new job and our new church (which is already difficult in itself, for anyone who has ever been in church-ministry!) and showing us the most faceted and loving group of people that have ever been in either of our lives!  There have been CRAZY struggles, and they are by no means over, but God has been so merciful to us to give us such wonderfully life-changing experiences.

I have made personal strides in my own faith and I have yet to know if I am ever going to be okay with where I am spiritually, but I love thinking and learning and experiencing discussion with those different from myself and becoming more aware of the world in which I am so radically being exposed to, whether I am ready for it or not.  My prayer in this season of life is that I continue to question and continue to challenge what I have always just taken for granted.  I want my faith to continue to be my own, whatever that ends up looking like!  Grad school, seminary, becoming a mom, or whatever, I know that I can continue to rely on those around me and that right now, I am content with free-falling!!

A now, a relevant cartoon:

http://www.cartoonchurch.com/content/cc/i-have/

Day 2 of "Snow-pocalypse" 2010

Today, I baked.

I have been wanting to bake bread from scratch for a very long time.  However, the time that it actually takes to make the bread has always been the inhibiting factor.  I have not had 3-4 consecutive hours that I could sit at home and bake bread without having to go somewhere or NOT stay up until 2 in the morning baking bread.  So, on the second snow day, I decided that I would try and find the ingredients in my cabinets to make something...ANYTHING, and MUCH to my surprise, I had all the ingredients to make a White Bread.  So, I called my mom and she emailed me the recipe that she uses and I basically, after much hesitation and even more encouragement from others, went to town on my bread!  (Now, I'm excited because I don't actually now how it's going to turn out because I am writing this as it is sitting in a bowl with a towel over it and rising...so we'll see if my enthusiasm is still existent AFTER the bread has been baked, cooled, and tasted!)

***after the baking is complete!

Here is the bread once everything was mixed together - RIGHT before I started kneeding it...

 

The bread in the bowl, waiting to rise (You can even see where I poked it TWICE just to make sure it was ready!)

This is the bread punched out and rolled up into two pans (one was a little deformed...next time I'll fix that)   :)

Halfway through the rising process

Finished with rising

After spraying Butter-flavored Cooking Spray on the top so it browned nicely, here is the result!

AND...here is me having a sandwich! YUM!

After my successful, first time, making bread...I decided that I would follow in the footsteps of my pastor's wife and try my hand at cinnamon rolls.  Now, I'm not a HUGE fan of cinnamon rolls, Hubby is, so I whipped up a batch.  When it was time to make the icing, I realized I did not have cream cheese, so I created a simple sugar/milk/vanilla mixture that had a similar consistency and sweetness (without the hint of tart with the cream cheese) and really feel like it couldn't have turned out any better as a pulled-together-last-minute-something-being-used-as-a-substitute kind of thing!

All in all, it was a VERY productive day on my part, and I have a blog to show for it as well!

Generic Meds Are My Heroes!

For the past several days I have been developing some sort of sickness.  To this moment, I'm not 100% sure of what exactly it was, but it was no fun.  It started the day after Thanksgiving with normal allergy-like symptoms, I took some DayQuil and didn't really worry about it (even though it never really helped).  However, by Saturday night it had progressed into something that was no longer ONLY allergies (as I had fooled myself into thinking), and I was desperately in need of some meds, yet unwilling to leave the comfort of my warm bed to go get them.  Luckily, I have a truly remarkable Hubby who called when he was leaving work and said, "What do you want me to get you from the store?  What do you need medicine for? And are you hungry at all?  Soup?," etc.

It was marvelous to hear!  He came back with some food and these meds (that's right, we ONLY get the good stuff - generic all the way!)

AND

Almost 24 hours since the first dosage (PLUS Cough Syrup for my symptoms) and I feel about 75-80% normal!  I'm not one to enjoy going to the doctor - in fact I pretty much loathe it with every fiber of my being, and find it needlessly costly to go to someone and have them say "It's only a sinus infection, go rest" when I can just medicate myself like crazy and get better!  (Plus, then you have the war stories like: I took a dayquil, some cough medicine, a dosage of airbourne, some zinc drops and slept for 12 hours!)

All of this to say, "Hubby knows best!"  He's such a great man and takes really great care of me.  He even brought me ELF, the movie, from the living room where it resides in the entertainment center when I asked him to get it while laying in bed in the bedroom! :)  GOOD MAN!

A Break From Paper Writing

A new blog post!  Crazy, I know...but this one has to do a little with procrastinating about a paper I am working on.

I am in a course called, "Christian Heresies" and it is absolutely wonderful!  Not growing up having any knowledge of church history - due to being a Baptist and never really talking about any of this in church (just stating a reality), I am learning so much about where the "church" has come from and I have lots of opinions about this, not that this is the place to share them, but I'm trying to take a break, if you will, from my paper.

I would just like to say that I feel like somewhat of a skeptic about Constantine.  I'm talking about my paper, yes...you may not want to read any more (if anyone does read this), because I just have to free write, and then get back to my "formal" writing for the paper....here it goes:

Maybe I'm right on the money, but more than likely, I'm being crazy skeptical and judgemental about poor Constantine, the Great.  I've decided that he was kind of in the business of Christianity for the political power that he saw it bringing him.  I know some believe that he actually converted to Christianity, and maybe he did, I don't know...but I have a hard time believing that he saw a vision of a Chi Rho, put it on the shield or whatever of his soldiers, won the battle, THEN decided to convert to Christianity, and it was all genuine...(like I said, the probability of this being judgemental is great).  The poor Emperor got shysted out of being emperor in the first place, then eventually became emperor, and in that day, whoever won the battles in the name of whatever 'god' they were fighting for was the 'god' that was worshipped...so like I said, I think it was all a political maneuver on his part...especially all the council of nicea business...

Eusebius:  Here's my Creed, see, it works!
Constantine: Sounds great, let's do that!

COUNCIL: NO!  What are you thinking?  It's too broad, even Arius could agree! [gasps of horror]

Constantine: Oh...well, then....Ossius, how about you go talk to Arius and Alexander and get them to be friends again
Ossius: Okay, I guess I could do that, what are they fighting about, again?
Constantine: idk...just go moderate, see you soon!
Ossius: peace, bro!

Ossius: Hey, Arius, Alex, why can't we all just get along?  [campaigns for hugs]
Arius: Alex sucks, we could never get along!
Alex: Yeah, I will never agree with Arius.  I'm rubber, he's glue, whatever bounces off of me sticks to him! [sticks tongue out]
Ossius: Oh, well, I didn't really know what was going on anyway, so...coo!  Hasta la vista!

Constantine: Crap, Ossius couldn't help...I guess I better call a council...

COUNCIL: We hate Arius, let's just make something that says EVERYTHING opposite of what Arius thinks, then we can call that orthodoxy!
COUNCIL (In unison, minus several members): SWEET!

COUNCIL (above stated, several members): So....Constantine, we don't really agree with this creed, can we have more time to think on it?
Constantine: Freakin' idiots - NO! I need everyone to be happy and get along! Sign the dotted line for goodness's sake and get on with it, it's not the end of the world! I'll excommunicate you if you don't!
COUNCIL (above states, several members): [scared and hesitant] ...okay

Constantine: Sweet, unity!  Now everything will be grand, the Christian God will bless my empire and I'll die rich and prosperous!

{end scene}

If only I could see Constantine as genuine...but it's a little difficult.  I think it was nice of him to create the Edict of Milan with Licinius...but I just don't know about this whole..."I'm gonna make Christianity the religion of the Empire and everyone has to follow it how I want it to be run, or else they are heretics! Burn 'em all...the heretics that is"....I guess I don't see that...

Anyway, now that I was able to express the cartoonish scenario going on in my head, I must get back to said paper....

(Don't hate me because I'm opinionated - I absolutely could be wrong...that's why it's an opinion...)

Peace, bros!

Response to a Public Forum

Last night, I attended a Public Forum at the United Ministry Center on Campus entitled, "Why are We So Mean?"  There were four panelists, two of whom I knew, and two others, all who were either ministers or professors (or variations of both).  As I listened to all the conjecture, some I agreed with and some I did not, I had a little revelation of my own as to the possible cause of this "meanness" that is becoming so much more a part of the public square.

The world is becoming more global.  Within the past, even 10 years, we have been bombarded with international news/culture/fashion/political issues/etc.  There is so much more being thrown out there now than there used to be.  This is not entirely a bad thing, in itself, I personally think that it is important to know what is going on in the world.  That being said, it is inevitable that we are becoming a much more globally minded people.

I think this very simple fact is causing a lot of unrest and distress within people (on a very internal and personal level, possibly even subconsciously).

With everything new being brought to light and having to adapt in order to live in this type of world we are now living in, it is unsettling because "I no longer have to worry about just ME, in my community, but I have to worry about ME and my world, and what that looks like".  I think that people, in the past century, have found themselves and were comfortable in their society because they knew their place in that society.  This was something that was a given and a constant and they could rely on knowing who they were in relation to the 500 other people that they encountered on any given day.  Now, however, there are international affairs affecting the lives of people in our own neighborhoods, there are inter-religious squabbles that are more prominent because people don't know how to react to all of this "new" ideology and they become insecure (not necessarily even knowingly) with themselves and how the "me" relates to the world now.

"me" has become so much smaller in a sense and the need to define "me" is so important, because one does not want to become just another random person in the mix, "me" still needs to know where I stand on things, what I believe, and so because of this....we have become so much more staunch in our debates, in our conversations with friends, and we will not back down in public discourse because to abandon "me" would be the worst thing one could do in the current global situation. (Or so we come to think).

This is all an opinion, and my opinion, so please take it with a grain of salt.  (Not trying to start things, just sharing!) :)

I see the "mean" that is out there and the apparent need for it to always become an "us vs. them" type of ideology in almost ANY arena - not even being confined to the taboo subjects of religion and politics, but in more and more of what we talk about even with our friends and families.  Why does it have to be an "us vs. them?"  What makes "us" any better?  Why can we not approach another human being and have the same decency given to them that we expect them to give to us?  It seems very arrogant and ignorant to expect one to respect your opinions yet in return, slap them in the face with rhetoric and then be offended by what they say....

The public forum was very interesting and brought to light some very serious things that are happening and need to be resolved.  Just thought I would share!

:)

Sweet, Sweet Restaurant "Q"

This is long overdue...my apologies.  I WANT to write blogs more often, but because of the fact that my laptop is not super reliable, I tend to not even want to deal with it...but here I am, again!

I think that, unfortunately, this is going to be a post about waiting tables.  Yes, I am a server at a local restaurant...a fairly popular restaurant if I do say so myself...and others would agree, but I'm not going to state the name...so we're just going to call it "Q" (for this particular blog's sake).

Working at Q has it's good and bad moments...there isn't really mostly one or the other, it's a pretty even amalgamation of good and bad - and most always interesting!  The mis-conception by the general public is that most servers are not very intelligent and only wait tables because there is nothing better out there.  As true as this may be for some, it is VERY MUCH SO not the case for all, and I am positive that it is not even the case for most.  That being said, the establishment where I am employed, Q, is full of people that are trying to finish their degrees, and trying to support their families while having a VERY flexible schedules that they can work as a second job or as a part-time job while their spouse or significant other has another or better paying job.  Most of the people I work with are very pleasant people and I thoroughly love hearing about their lives and experiences, because you honestly...cannot make up a lot of this stuff - both good and bad.

Customers, on the other hand....let's just say that...just like the average customer of a restaurant has pre conceived notions of the staff "serving" them, the server has the same preconceived notions about them.  Whether right or wrong, from the server's perspective (as I am one), most of the time, the mis/pre conceptions tend to fall close to, if not right on, the mark.  This is not always the case, thank God...because most of the time, it's probably something negative that is stereotyped to the customer.  (For better or worse...that's just how it is).

Now...don't hear me saying that all customers are slime...because that is NOT the case at ALL!  Most customers though, fall much more easily into the stereotypical customer categories....for instance, and please don't be offended if you are reading this and happen to find yourself similar to one of these categories, this is what MOST servers think about these stereotypes (and yes...you probably ARE the exception...)

Not being PC, here we go (and again, yes...there are exceptions...but that is all they are: exceptions):

*  Old People:  generally don't tip well.  They also, don't want to be bothered.  You almost have to sense when they're ready to order, and then once they have their food, don't talk to them again until they are finished!  You're probably going to get 10% at least...15% if you're AMAZING...if you HAPPEN to get 20%, WOAH!  You've done something amazing or they're just amazing people that want to bless the socks off you!  And 20% from anyone 55+ is a GREAT tip...stereotypically speaking.

*  Families with teens:  generally don't tip well and are VERY NEEDY!  If you can keep up with every little thing they need, then you might get 15%.  The problem here is, these families, because they have teenagers (and especially if they're boys), will rack up a bill, just because they are order big plates, and then see it and say, "How did 4 people manage to get a bill for $65?!"  and will then proceed to leave a $5-$8 tip.  This isn't seen as a issue for the family...because they just paid freakin' $65 in one hour...and what did the waiter do, right?  They just got refills, and the order correct....that's not even worth $2.

*  Families with young children:  These aren't as easy to give ONE stereotype, so I give them two categories:

         1)  They expect to have a terrible evening because their children are going to fuss and complain and be a huge burden and then they are going to be in a bad mood all night, and it will reflect in the tip 10-15%.

         2)  They go in with more realistic expectations and feel bad if their kid is a pain, and as long as they are reassured that it IS okay, they are only 3...it's understood and have the feeling that the server wants to give them a good experience genuinely, then you can generally expect 15-20% (But the server also has to approach the table differently).

*  Couples (Older than high school***) on a date:  If the guy pays, you can expect a 15-20% tip.  Mainly, I think, because the man feels like he needs to tip well because it's a nice occasion and they're on a date and had already planned on spending money.  Now, if the woman pays, it's generally not a good tip - and I'm not exactly sure why.  But generally speaking, that's just how it is.

***(High schoolers NEVER tip well, it doesn't matter what the situation is, they just never tip.  So I'm not even going to go there...because it never happens)

*  "Big Tops" (Large Groups of People - anything that requires tables being pushed together - 7+) - these groups need to be split up into different categories;

      1) Parties of 6-7 that one CANNOT add gratuity to: these parties are generally good tippers, and even BETTER tippers if the checks are split up, as much time and effort that takes the server, the more you split the tickets, the better people tip...and the reason is: if one sees $174.32 and the bill, one is not going to leave me a $40 tip on TOP of that huge bill - BUT, if 7 people see $15.00, they will generally tip the 15-20% just because it was a large group of people and I think they feel bad for the server.

      2) Parties of 8+, when a grat is involved:  This is a little more complicated.  For instance, I had a 20 person table once, it was someone's party.  The gratuity at restaurant Q is 18%...more than the average person tips out - so OBVIOUSLY I'm going to add the grat.  It's common sense, and a "hey, you did great!" on a comment card doesn't pay the bills - sorry people, it doesn't!  These people apparently were offended that I grat-ed them...and let me know that they were good tippers and don't like gratuity added because they tip well.  So what did they do?  Didn't leave any more of a tip?  Why?  To spite me?  I don't really know...but I am NOT going to chance the rare "great tipper" on a $300 ticket...it's NOT going to happen.  You can always leave more than the grat, so if you really are great tippers, did you not leave more of a tip to SHOW me that you were great tippers - because that definitely doesn't show me anything about you being a good tipper...moving on...

-moral of this is, "I grat because I need to, not because I think you, personally, aren't going to tip me (even though I do think that).  Blame everyone else for not tipping if you are going to take it personally." :)

      3) Teen parties of 8+, like my disclaimer above stated, teens don't EVER tip well.  EVER!  It doesn't happen.  So, it really sucks when they come in with 10 of their closest friends and all either JUST eat the complimentary items or share meals and just get one meal item and nothing else.  They are also the neediest customers because they need refills all the time of drinks, complimentary items, etc.  Also, they tend to, regardless of the ticket cost, complain about how expensive everything is.  That's what you get when you eat out - so when they come in with $15, and their ticket is $14.04, They are angsty about leaving me a dollar...they are, you see it in their face when I bring them back a dollar as their change, it's like they want to ask me for change for a dollar and then leave me $0.50 or something.  Anyway, teens HATE being grat-ed because then they HAVE to tip and they didn't plan on that and sometimes they didn't bring enough money.  More often than any other customers, I have to go back to teens and say, "I'm sorry, the bill was $17.43 and you only gave me $15....

Am I cynical?  Maybe a little?  Probably.  I love waiting tables....I do.  Most days.  It is very interesting to see different types of people and how they act in public.  It's fascinating that people would actually do the things that they end up doing a lot of the time, and I'm getting great stories - you can't make up this kind of stuff...seriously...you'd have to be a psycho-path...

Those are just a few stereotypes, but honestly, not everyone DOES fall in to those, but most people do.  And the harsh reality of the restaurant business is that people, more often than not, treat you according to the stereotype you fit into.  Most people don't want to make the extra effort to not judge a table based on stereotype, but when that is the majority, it is so much more difficult.  People just need to learn to tip.  Servers only get paid $2/hour, and a lot of the time, the "Tip Share" that gets taken out, gets taken directly out of the cost of the meal, not the tip left.  Here's the math:

4 people eat, ticket is $60, tip is $10

approx 4% of the cost of the meal automatically gets taken out for the busboys and hostesses: $60x0.04

=$2.50(ish)

Now, the tip has decreased to $7.50

The table ordered 3 maragaritas - that's $0.50/drink for the bartender, so now the tip is down to $6.00

I know that it doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but when eating out, people need to realize that the server does NOT take home all of the tip that is left.  Maybe people do realize this and just hate tipping - if you don't like to tip, go to Whataburger, there's one in Moore now...

I am not bitter, I understand the reality of this, and I've accepted the fact that most people don't know how to tip, but you know what the WORST part of this is...there is one stereotype that I have left out for a reason:

* Christians/Sunday Lunchers - this group, as a whole, is by far and wide the worst tippers of the bunch.  I've heard stories from people who have waited on PASTORS - and what did the pastors leave?  Nothing.  No money at all.  They might leave a church bulletin though, or a business card with "We'd love to have you visit!" written on it...or the worst, a tract, that basically says, "You're going to hell if you don't do: A, B, and C".  This breaks my heart.

What in the WORLD suggests to a Christian that it would behoove the server much more to leave them a "tip" about "salvation"...because isn't that what it's about?  "BY YOUR FRUITS YOU SHALL KNOW THEM!" Does that even mean anything?  What are you telling this random server, who obviously didn't go to church that morning because they're waiting on YOU, when you don't tip them....you're definitely NOT telling them that you love them, or that you want them to do well in life and here's a little extra just because I want to bless you, because you're a human just like I am...

I'm on my soapbox, but I'm not being irrelevant here.  Ask any server what the worst shift of the week is for them, and they will say Sunday afternoon.  It will be busy, yes, and they might make more than they would on a slow Tuesday lunch shift, but for the volume of people served, and the amount of tables they had that shift, I guarantee that the tip precentages/table are higher ANY other shift than on Sunday lunch shifts.  That's sorry...and as Christians, we're shooting ourselves in the feet, because there are GREAT people that are serving tables, who deserve the knowledge of the love of Christ as much as anyone...and they have this idea in their heads that, "Why would I want to go to church, the church people are the worst customers...I'm just fine with the people I hang out with, they're at least nicer".

Ugh...anyway...

I'm not trying to say everyone is like this, because I know they're not.  I have amazing tippers at times, and I have people that leave without paying ANY of the bill...it happens, that's reality.  But my main thing is, that Christians are called to love others, just as Christ loved the church - you love them through all of their mistakes and their crap and their misconceptions, you love them regardless.  Because if you read the book of Hosea, about the Israelites being "whores" to God...that's a really tough way to love others...but that is what we're called to do.  So why can't we do it?  We're not any better than the person that serves us food, and we're not any better than the people that wipe up our garbage and our mess when we're finished with it...

I want people to know that I love them regardless, and I AM a Christian - shocker.  I want people to know that Christ loves them regardless, and that people are messy and we live imperfect lives, and to not judge too harshly (cough, cough...Sunday tippers), who aren't showing love at all...I NEED these people I work with to know that there is more to my life than what they see from most Christians....

...what mark are we going to leave on the world?  As Christians, as a whole...what are we doing?  Is it glorifying God?  Because in my line of work...it's very grim and dank for Christianity...because who would want to be a part of that, they aren't nice, and they aren't grateful...

Matthew 7:16

James 2:14-20

A Little Vent

It's been a while, and a lot has happened, but it's not really that exciting, unfortunately...

There are things in life that I am very passionate about and other things that I'm really NOT at all.  And I think that everyone is like this to some extent (except for those people are just good at everything they do...they're just passionate about everything because they do it so well - arg!)

Some things I am really excited about, and I think most people would agree with this idea, but I get really fired up about my opinions - especially those that I think have some degree of merit to them.  Now, I'm not one to force my thoughts on others and I really don't speak up that often because I really don't want to cause conflict or be disareeable, but there are some things that really irk me.  So for just a few lines, I need to vent (and Rich has already heard this, haha, many times!)

In Religious Studies classes, and maybe other classes, too, I don't know...but in my classes, there are people that really just rub my nerves raw because they're really very not intelligent and rather ignorant.  Again, I'm not a "pot stirrer", but I just sit there fuming...because when it really comes down to it, I came to a university to learn in an academic setting, I'm not there to be told that "I'm wrong because I am not a Catholic"...really?  That's really what you're going to do?  Because the class is definitely called, "Greek and Roman Religions"...what does that even have to do with that....?

Enough on the rant, now on to the real frustration and it really breaks my heart for these types of people, and maybe I fall into this category in some way and that's why it weighs so heavy on my heart, but my thoughts on these people in my classes are this....Most of these people claim to be Christians...and do so VERY ignorantly and outright in the middle of class when there is no relevance at all.  You don't need to begin a statement with, "I'm a Christian and I think that...."  or "I grew up Baptist, and I think that..."  (Why do you have to do that RIGHT before you are about to slap someone in the face or discredit what someone else has questioned as a legitimate academic question in the middle of a geuninely academic setting?!)

The point...as Christians, are we ignorant?  As a whole?  Are we?  Do we truly care about other people? Or do we only care about furthering our own personal agenda, as Baptists, or Methodists, or Catholics?  Because it seems to me...through my classes, that the "Christians" are the most offensive people in the entire class.

I'm not saying that Christianity is only about "Jesus loves me", there are other things that are also very important like the cross and redemption, etc., but it's true, but he also loves everyone else - so why can't we embrace that in every aspect of life?!  Why does it have to change just because you're at school?  Are you only at college in religious studies classes to convert everyone there to YOUR faith?  Because that's not why I'm in class.  I'm there to learn, to become less ignorant, and to walk away with a further understanding of religion as a whole and the psychological, sociological, and theological implications in can have in various aspects of people's lives.  There's just so much more to the phenomena that is religion...

Maybe this is an unjust accusation, but it's been a HUGE frustration as I sit there in class listening to these people first claiming that they're Christians, and then completely putting down someone else...

I LOVE my degree program and enjoy just about every minute of class time that I have (even the readings are okay a lot of the time)!  I know that I will walk away with a degree from the University of Oklahoma and have a much more profound academic knowledge of religion as a whole, and various different religions, and it will help me in life, especially with the globalization that is happening at break-neck speed!

I just want Christians to not have the idea that breaking someone down will further the kingdom of God...especially when the person being "downed" knows full well you're a Christian because you used that information to justify the insult...