'One Strike, You're Out' People

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal...   And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."  ...  1 Corinthians 13:1,13


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Wow. An old family friend unfriended me at Facebook. Moi!  :)

I posted something funny at Facebook, they found it unfunny, we discussed it a bit (with a couple subtle 'digs' at me), then I discovered they no longer consider me their friend.

Growing-up with One Strike, You're Out People (and having met many these years since) I've watched, learned and been hurt by them for decades. 

Maybe you know a few, also. They sound like this:


"I forgave you once, but I refuse to do it again."
"You love that tv show? I saw a bad episode and I never, ever watched that series after that."
"I had one negative experience with an online company. I refuse to order from them again."
"I don't care that you didn't mean for it to sound that way."
"I never thought you'd say that to me. No, we can't discuss this. I'm outta here."


And non-confrontational One Strike, You're Outters? They're excellent at silently fading away from your life (or withholding their words or affection), even after you try to resuscitate the relationship. 

I used to let One Strike, You're Outters give me complexes, make me terrified about saying one wrong word, but no more. Life is too short to let anyone screw up your head.

I think 'forgiving others seventy times seven' continues to die in our society, so it behooves the rest of us to keep the practice alive, though yeah, it can get rough. Messy. 

To retain our sanity in this world-gone-mean, we must remind ourselves that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities. And in these Last Days, becoming offended will be normal fare. Yet always, true, godly love is the most important thing and it never fails.

Yes, that's a lot to remember, but we live in a time never seen before, after all. Our personal love for God, Himself, must become more unshakeable than ever and honestly? I believe our relationship with Him is the only thing which will see us through, sanity-intact, the days to come.

I would say, 'I may be wrong,' but really, in this case, I don't think I am.

"Don't speak ill of the people leaving your life--- just open the door and thank them for the good times."  ...  Unknown Quotes

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"In the last days, people will be ... unmerciful..."   ... From 2 Timothy 3


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And here's a P.S. for Facebook users: Clicking on 'Unfollow' is much, much kinder than clicking 'Unfriend.'

Just something to consider.



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Here are a couple (not-free, alas) books I thought some of you might enjoy. I've not read them, though (my disclaimer). They just sounded interesting:


One Pair of Hands

Nothing To Do But Stay


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