For those of you who know me, you probably don't know my spiritual side. I don't wear that part of me in public very often. My excuse is "that's how I grew up" (ugh! I can't stand that when others say that to me about their rationale for doing or not doing something!)
Recent well-publicized events about immorale activities of authority figures have given me pause to reflect on how I feel about the media circus regarding imperfections.
We are all exposed to circumstances every day where we want to be judge, jury and executioner. It's really tough to not be judgmental, isn't it? Look at all the "Judge shows" that are televised. Court judges rule the airways: traffic court, divorce court, neighbor-borrowed-my-toothbrush-and-never-returned-it court. And then in prime time TV land we have snotty little judges being rude to hard-working contestants on dance and singing shows.
Lately, headlines about various admirable people in positions of power and influence have shown us that we are all indeed, fragile, vulnerable, and quite fallible. We are people who make mistakes with various degrees of naughtiness every single day.
There hasn't been a day I've lived where I haven't made a pretty hefty goof, how about you?
Now, more than ever, it seems that the people who we most admire and sometimes want to emulate are making big-time boo-boos that are splashed all over the news.
Occasionally human nature causes us to make it ALL ABOUT US ~ maybe we think that we've been duped. ~ "I guess maybe I didn't know him very well since he was keeping this kind of secret", one might surmise. OR ~ "Maybe I shouldn't trust ANYONE if I can't trust my.....priest...my CEO...my senator...my local sheriff...my best friend." Yep. You can put ANYONE's name in that sentence because we all have screwed up to varying degrees. Why would those we love or people in authority be any different?
Have you ever heard someone react to a (supposed) enemy's demise with, "Great! I'm so glad that so-and-so has been knocked off his pedestal! I hope they lynch him!"
Ah, such words of kindness and love.
I remember coming out of church where 500 people had heard the same sermon about "love thy neighbor". I walked out of church, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.
When I reached my car, I found that someone had placed a hand-scrawled note on my windshild, lashing out a sermon of another kind ~ because they thought that I had parked too close to their vehicle.
Anyway, it kinda ruined the "glow" of the service for me a little.
"Judge not, lest ye be judged"..HA!
I've found myself feeling way to comfortable in that judge's robe lately.
Now I want to find myself in the forgiveness role a tad bit more.
I've been blessed throughout my life to have made errors in judgment and people have forgiven me. I've screwed up like a gold-medal winner of Olympic offenses, but been released without a blemish on my record.
Lucky me.
"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
(Whoa...I've had a barnyard load of stones that I keep throwing..what's up with that?")
Matt. 7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged."
(Ah, come on...not ME! That's for OTHERS...right?)
Maybe someday I'll really understand some of those quotes and wear those ugly "judgy" robes a little less frequently.
1 comment:
Peg,
I agree with most of what you say. However when someone sets themself up as the moral authority over a congregation, I believe they should be held to a higher standard. I also think in the case of the minister from Colorado, people are incensed by the hypocrisy of preaching against behavior in which you are partaking.
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