Wednesday, February 16, 2011

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly




Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty says:
   “See, I will refine and test them, 
   for what else can I do 
   because of the sin of my people? 
Their tongue is a deadly arrow; 
   it speaks deceitfully. 
With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors, 
   but in their hearts they set traps for them. 
Should I not punish them for this?” 
   declares the LORD. 
“Should I not avenge myself 
   on such a nation as this?” – Jeremiah 9:7-9


Today’s Reading: Jeremiah 9-11; 1Timothy 6


I was talking to a buddy of mine on Google Chat the other day and he told me about this woman he met. They went on one date and it was fantastic. She was beautiful, smart and funny and had the wit and sarcasm that he enjoys. It seemed like a good fit until…

She dropped the N-Word via text the next day.

Not the best look.       


See this friend of mine is a white guy and I perhaps she felt like it was ok to drop the word given that she was in familiar company. After all what’s the big deal right? Well… she was wrong. She just offended one of the most liberal big white lawyer dudes on earth.

But one thing that he said to me that was interesting was that he was glad that she dropped that bomb so early on. If she had kept her racism under wraps longer then she may have stuck around long enough for him to get attached. But this way he can make a clean break and tell her to kick rocks as he should.

He’s a good man.

Sadly most people are not as candid with their feelings as this woman was. Most people do their best to put their best food forward so as to not offend others. But the worst examples of this are the people who act one way in front of your face and talk totally differently behind your back.
Have some integrity about yourself!

Keep it real with yourself and keep it real with others. Life will work out better that way.

In this regard I actually have some respect for the woman. Sure she didn’t win over my buddy but she was being herself. And her being herself presented her with an opportunity to learn just how offensive something that she considers to be normal behavior can be to others; whether or not they are white or black.

Honesty is always the best policy but it takes courage. The good the bad and the ugly tend to come out when we are honest. But after all, it will all be revealed anyway right?

Riiiight. 

3 comments:

  1. Excellent share!

    The comfort, if we are honest, flawed us and all from jump, we know we are appreciated for our honesty, flawed us and all, from jump. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. To add...

    God will show us truths regardless if we want to see them. As done to Jeremiah about Israel. It is our decision on how we react to these truths. And when. If at all.

    The people of Israel and Judah confused God's silence as a lack of power. They needed to experience God's wrath to understand God's power.

    God always knows our truths. And will share your truths with those that he feels need to see it.
    Never confuse silence for not knowing.

    ReplyDelete

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