Thrive In 2025
A lot of fear is going around today but I refuse to give in. Here are some thoughts from the Beatitudes and Fruits of the Spirit that I hope others will find helpful.

“We can stand in our power, not kneel at the altar of inevitable fear.”
Jesus Had Some Really Good Lifehacks For Us To Remember While America As We Know It Comes Under Attack
I’m a Christian Universalist. I believe in Christ and His sacrifice for all of humanity, but I hope I am not a judgmental d*ck about it. I’m not exclusive. I’m definitely not and actively oppose Christian nationalists. I have no interest in trying to convince someone to believe the way I do. In fact, if you’re a person who doesn’t believe in anything spiritual, that’s cool. Want to worship Allah and Muhammad, his prophet? Go for it! Hindu, Mormon, New Age, Buddha, Life Coaching from Oprah and any of the other million paths home to heaven? More power to you. I really don’t care unless someone’s faith is used to hurt others.
You know, like the pain the religious power behind the new administration taking over will cause. Congrats, Christian Nationalists, you get to own the sandbox and the whole playground for four years starting today.
I have a feeling it might not go as smoothly as they planned. So it may be good to follow Jesus’ teaching instead of Project 2025. I have a feeling they won’t but the teachings I am thinking of are the hardest, yet should be easy, teachings to follow.
Let’s resist the fascistic amoral oligarchy by being peaceful, humble people who care and stand up for each other in our pursuit of freedom and justice.
Some potential guidelines to consider…
From Wikipedia, Jesus taught in Matthew 5:3–12 (emphasis mine):
3Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the Earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called the Sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.Luke 6:24–26 (on same page linked above)
24"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
I believe the above casts a vision for engaging community and a great start to self-reflection. I think you can tell the flavor of how I interpret these scriptures in today’s context by the sub-heading introduction before the quotes. Again, I have zero desire to tell others how to interpret the above. Christian Nationalists, I have no doubt, think they fulfill all the above without error and are not a part of the “woes” coming out of the Gospel of Luke. But no person’s interpretation of those scriptures (mine included) prevent the Divine from inspiring the reader to do better regardless of who that reader is and what they believe.
Hopefully.
Here are some substantive guides to personal peace on earth (in my opinion).
From Wikipedia, Fruits of the Holy Spirit (links theirs)
… is a biblical term that sums up nine attributes of a person or community living in accord with the Holy Spirit, according to chapter 5 of the Epistle to the Galatians: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."
If what I am doing is not within the above description(s), I need to seriously question what I am doing.
Being irreverent and flippant is part of who I am but where it conflicts with the above, I need to question my motives.
In my past I didn’t see the above two quotes as much more than something to talk about on Sunday and judge others by. I don’t know many culturally driven Christians (Nationalists and otherwise) who take the above seriously. They are often explained away as, “Well I am just human, not Jesus.” I think that is bull-hockey. They don’t say we have to be Jesus or perfect to seek to implement them in our lives.
It was the fruits of the Spirit that led me out of the closet in January 2015. In the closet, the fruits of the Spirit only exist as slogans and something to quote while manipulating others to do what we have judged is God’s will. It was desperately seeking the fruits of the Spirit that led me out of the closet where they actually existed in people all around me outside of the four walls of the church; and not all of them straight cis Christians.
Everyone Can Practice “The Fruits Of The Spirit” And Be Mindful Of The Beatitudes
I believe people of pure heart, have empathy, are humble, lovers of justice (not revenge), are truly honest, facilitate peace for themselves and their relationships, and can resist even in the face of those who would love to steal our god-given authenticity have an advantage.
That advantage will be able to recognize love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in ourselves and in those around us. If we discern it is not present in ourselves, we can work and meditate on that. If these life-giving attributes are not in those around us we won’t let them steal our grounding and power.
We also don’t have to follow them. We can stand in our power, not kneel at the altar of inevitable fear.
Honestly, I do not like posting about religious stuff. I am not a Pastor, don’t want to be a pastor, or a Christian know-it-all. I posted because I am seeing fear take over the day and wanted to share these words in hopes they will help the reader like they help me.
Would love to know if any of the beatitudes for fruits of the spirit stood out to you and what impact that has had.
More about Randy…
Helpful resources…