As vacation continues, I sure do need to thank everyone for being patient with my blogging as of late. As a full-time mommy on vacation, I find it difficult to find time to steal away and blog.
I am struck with the number of articles in the news I have been reading (which I will admit to more news reading as of late, so maybe I am just realizing something that is always there) about people suing others. I have always been aware of the number of lawyers who prey on people who they think might have a case and encourage them to create a lawsuit but what to me seems alarming is the number of these suits that the news is uplifting.
Whatever happen to sometimes things happen? It feels like we jump to these big actions - like slapping a lawsuit on someone without even beginning the process of talking or trying to work things out other ways. And this happens in our daily life doesn't it? Instead of going to the person or persons who you have a problem with, we go behind their backs and stir up trouble. We seem to have forgotten the biggest part of Jesus' death on the cross - forgiveness. For it isn't just something we are entitled to get but that we are also required to give. (I use the language entitled here for reasons one day a blog will get into). And yet, we often fail to remember the "other" in process of trying to save our own face, or control our own anger.
What I find even more worrisome is that the news tells us about these lawsuits - especially when they are against larger corporations but we never hear the outcome. We never know if the story that the supposed victim is giving is the full and correct account of what happen - and so we begin to have negative feelings and perhaps angry towards the accused when we don't even know if that is valid. OR what really happened in the end of the lawsuit.
And this happens in our personal lives as well, doesn't it? Someone tells us about "something" or they "show" us evidence about how someone else has wronged them. And the next thing you know, the anger has exploded. Multiple people now are angry for the person and agree...things that they didn't like before are now proof that yes indeed actions were wrong - and yet in the pursuit for what? rightfulness? We fail to actually look at what Jesus would do - what the right thing to do is.
I do think that the problem is that we have become a nation full of people who fail to relate in community. And this isn't just a younger generational thing...this is across the generations - this is everyone. In our attempt to pursue the American Dream - or in our attempt to keep our families together - or in our attempt to make our life matter - we have become a very "me" centered country. When something happens to us; we jump to conclusions and truly fail to see the other and unfortunately those who do remember the other are often prosecuted worse.
the Divine offers us forgiveness so that we can offer forgiveness to others - so that we can spread that around and all might feel the amazing grace that Christ offers. But for us to truly live in forgiveness we must give up this need to fulfill our own wants. We must be willing to look at the world as a community and at corporations as a people trying to do their jobs the best they can. Sometimes things happen that led to your unhappiness but that doesn't mean that everyone has to keep you happy.
No matter where we look - this is happening, in our society, in our churches, in our schools, at our stores. It makes it hard for everyone to do their job and most importantly makes people fear losing their jobs. It also makes the world a place of unfriendliness and people unwilling to be themselves in fear of saying something "wrong."
Let us stop this! Let us begin to actually spread forgiveness with compassion to those around us - let's get real with people and stop focusing on our own universe but instead the grandeur world we live in. Let us bring the Divine Forgiveness off the cross and into the arms of those we meet!
