A Future Provocative Protagonist

Provocative means to provoke. If you look at "pro" and then "vocative," it sounds like voicing forth. Someone who is provocative causes strong irritation. A protagonist is a lead character in a drama. In studying the leadership styles of the Psalms, Ronald Reagan before he was president, Theodore Roosevelt, the apostle Paul, and Jesus Christ, I see a consistent trend. They were all provocative protagonists. They did not hold back. I am always holding back. It is almost an unwritten job requirement for a pastor: do not say what you mean. Instead, I listen and nod. Here are eleven things I have thought at least once, but not said...

1) No.
2) Stop talking about God's role in this. You did it to yourself.
3) Stop blaming him/her. Blame yourself.
4) The devil did not lift a finger here. You did this to yourself.
5) The truth hurts because you do not want it.
6) The image you project of God is ugly.
7) Your viewpoint is only that.
8) People are not your personal vending machines.
9) You do not want help. Stop asking for it.
10) Your whacked behavior defies your Christian explanation for it.
11) Telling people you love them does not make it okay for you to hurt them.

So, there you go. Someday...