"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ..." ... 2 Corinthians 4:4
******
My, my, my... All this uproar about what the ladies at The View said flippantly/foolishly about a nurse.
You'd think everyone, even Christians, expected those women to do and be better. To speak with the 'law of kindness upon their tongues.'
Wait. Apparently, everyone did expect that.
It's a distraction, People. What satan loves is for us to live livid. Offended. To become part of revengeful mobs writing angry Facebook and Twitter posts, believing our words will change hearts so blinded to the Truth. Hearts desperately empty without Jesus.
Satan desires that we spend our afternoons mad rather than praying for clueless, lost souls without a Shepherd. He rejoices when we seethe instead of serve, fume rather than feed the hungry folks in our neighborhoods.
He wants us to totally forget to "...bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."
There comes a time for us to stop expecting non-Christians to act and speak like they are saved. (Hey, half the time, real Christians don't even get it right.) To recall that the people Jesus got angry with while here, were the religious folks who claimed to follow God, but misrepresented Him. And I believe He'd rather we hurt more over others' lostness than their ignorant words.
It's a test. It's all a test.
Will we ask for more compassion for the lost or will we despise the Godless who are heading into a darkness so frightening, so bleak and so darn eternal?
Will we react with offense or with forgiveness and much sincere prayer?
As always, the choice is ours. No matter who did what to whom, God watches to see how much we've learned. How much we love.
*****
" ... because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires." ... James 1:20
"For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment." ... James 2:13
"But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." ... Philippians 3:14
"For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment." ... James 2:13
"But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." ... Philippians 3:14
******
And lest anyone think, "Yes, but you're not a nurse!," let me add: True!
But I am a homemaker and for 36 years I've heard the taunts in media that we homemakers are goal-less parasites, wasting our lives, poor examples for our daughters and drains on society.
And so much more.
So trust me, I had to begin passing the Offense Test in this area decades ago lest I turn into a bitter, people-hating, old homemaking hag.
Update: Truthfully? Four days later I am even more horrified by the thousands of nurses' reactions. Their comments have included death threats ("Just wait until Joy Behar needs a nurse. Good luck to her in finding one.") and words filled with malice, hatred and belittlement.
The intent of the View Ladies was for laughs and nowhere near the levels of ugly retribution hurled at them. Oh, the nurses' (and doctors') pent-up hatred which has been spewed! Words held back for years, it seems, regarding this show and its hosts.
This has all gone too far and I'm more embarrassed for the (woefully insecure) nurses than I was for the ladies of The View. I hope none of my readers are contributing to this movement of vengeance. It's unbiblical and is making me sick to see Christian medical professionals caught-up in the shameful mud-slinging.
Update: Truthfully? Four days later I am even more horrified by the thousands of nurses' reactions. Their comments have included death threats ("Just wait until Joy Behar needs a nurse. Good luck to her in finding one.") and words filled with malice, hatred and belittlement.
The intent of the View Ladies was for laughs and nowhere near the levels of ugly retribution hurled at them. Oh, the nurses' (and doctors') pent-up hatred which has been spewed! Words held back for years, it seems, regarding this show and its hosts.
This has all gone too far and I'm more embarrassed for the (woefully insecure) nurses than I was for the ladies of The View. I hope none of my readers are contributing to this movement of vengeance. It's unbiblical and is making me sick to see Christian medical professionals caught-up in the shameful mud-slinging.
******
During Naomi's last visit, she gave me her neglected Christmas cactus which, at the time, reminded me of a dead, deflated snake.
I sat it out on our front porch, watered it, and now it looks like this:
The bits of pinky-red intrigue me:
******
What's cooking in my crockpot today? Pork strips with tomatoes beneath and beans, above.
Yesterday it was barbecued pork necks.
******
My niece, Melissa, shared this very fitting quote at Facebook:
Oh, how we so often forget this!
******
Free Kindle Books:
Hi Debra,
ReplyDeleteAs a Registered Nurse who gave 35 years of my adult life caring for others, I'll admit, I was offended at the stupidity of the comments put forth by the ladies on The View. I sort of wish I had never read those comments or watched the video clip about the subject because it really DID rile me up. I have not watched that (in my opinion - horrible) show in many, many years... so if not for social media, I'd never have heard the utter foolishness of calling a nurse's uniform "a costume", the comment that being a nurse is not a "talent", "no wonder she lost" (the Miss America pageant), and then the complete idiocy wondering "why is she wearing a doctor's stethoscope". You know, trying to "school" these crazy TV hosts is truly ridiculous, you are right. But, I couldn't help myself - I wanted to stand up for MY chosen profession and maybe in a small way make sure that others know that we really ARE a great group of TALENTED professionals and it's a compassionate career with a true calling. :-)
Aww Susan---we all already know that you nurses are immeasurably talented and necessary. Even the ladies from The View know that.
ReplyDeleteI think what happened is that they went too far trying to be funny about something they'd never seen before in the talent portion of a beauty pageant. And as Joy later said--she didn't know what she was saying (now people are ridiculing her for saying *that*). Haven't we all done that when trying to make others laugh? Said things we later regretted? I have--too many times.
The Bible says in the last days many will be offended and I've seen that to be oh so true. It's easier than ever these days to stay mad. The whole 'politically correct' thing reflects upon trying to keep everybody happy and unoffended. But I don't want to spend my last days in a huff, just waiting to snap.
Again, nurses are so very necessary and everyone knows that. We homemakers are necessary, also, but not everyone knows that. :) So as I have for decades, I'm still choosing to not get offended when others make us sound like a big joke. I'll just keep quietly and purposely doing what God has called me to and not waste hours and days being angry about those who don't get it or didn't think before they spoke.
As the Bible says, it's only perfect people who always use the perfect words.
Thanks for commenting, my friend! Blessings, Debra
Awesome perspective!
ReplyDeleteamen ... we cannot expect those who are without Jesus, to be like Jesus ... it is amazing at the things that can totally start a sizzle going in my gut, if i let it, i won't even start listing any - cause we live in a lost world ... we need to be the light ... even the most low wattage "night light" gives MUCH light in the dark ... you made the point well ... blessings on ya!
ReplyDelete