what the world needs now…

there will always be tough topics that people aren’t comfortable talking about. hey, it’s a tough world, so it’s bound to happen. There are religious ones, political ones and moral conversations that always turn debate. Lately, unless you are only facebook friends with people like minded, you have probably seen endless video and news “discussions” about things such as abortion, our president, gun control, homosexuality, etc… Tension rousing debates are everywhere. Sometimes they are timely and relevant, and other times they are distractions from where our focus needs to be… Which brings me to the point of this post-

I’m not trying to preach at you by throwing a Bible verse in your face. I’m just saying, regardless of where you are- how can you argue with the relevance of this? THIS is what we are told to do. To simply love others, as ourselves, and CARRY EACH OTHER’S Burdens…

Last night Chw and I stumbled upon this blog post. Now, before I go much farther I have to point out a few things:

– i LOVE Russel. Yes, i also love Jesus. There you go, according to Westboro- I’m going to hell. {Good thing I don’t belong to Westboro.}

– i do appreciate that he did show them respect. He didn’t really attack them and he was sweet to them. The WBC tends to fuel a lot of angry reactions in people so i did feel the whole thing was pretty great and it humbled me a bit.

– The guy on the right was WAYYYYYY nicer than I expected anyone from their club to be. The guy on the left however, reminded me of that Jerry Springer bouncer who went on to have his own talk show of an equally irritating nature.

ok… Moving on. The whole thing is pretty interesting. She raises a great point about how it seems Christians feel that the Bible and it’s message are moldable to suit political correctness and current issues. I have heard it spoken and preached that “times are different now,” or “things have changed”, which seems ironic since- well, yes things HAVE changed since the Bible was written. The world is a very different place, and has been for a very long time. But that’s not my point…

What I am getting at is, Westboro is wrong. As passionate as they may be, they ARE wrong. They are mean, and they are cruel and they spew hate. It truly, truly saddens me that they (let alone anyone else) believe this is how you love. This mentality justifies everything from spousal abuse to child abuse. Let’s place Westboro in a parental analogy, shall we?

You LOVE your child. She’s a little 2 year old girl. Let’s call her Alice. You LOVE Alice. She’s the light of your life and you LOVE her so much. As she grows up though, and turns 3, 4, 5 years old- she refuses to use a fork at the table, or wipe her bum in the potty. (Or tell the truth, or pick up her toys, or to share, or to be kind to other kids, or to not kick the cat.) And so, as Alice’s “loving” parent, you stop speaking kindly to her. Whenever she gets off that school bus, you shout at her about how God hates her and she is a loser going to to hell. You publicly shame her at school, at the playground and in your yard. There is no love, no nurturing, no kindness. But it’s ok, you tell yourself, because you LOVE her. After all, isn’t it your JOB to show her the error of her ways? 

That way will never work. It could never work. It only causes more pain. On one hand, the sad realization that these now westboro adult children likely grew up in that very scenario is pretty startling. Considering also, that this parenting pattern continues is equally so. But, bottom line- it’s wrong. When you eliminate love (which is an action,) you change everything. This is the real issue at hand. Galatians says to “Carry Each Other’s Burdens.” You can’t do that if you are too busy only seeing your self while spewing judgement and condemning others. It doesn’t matter what side of whichever debate you fall on. Love transcends politics and religion. One thing that has not changed is that the world is a hard, lonely and hurting place. More than ever, people need love and friendship.

My husband had an affair a long, long time ago. He had a friend (whom we are still friends with, to this day) step up, in love, and say “look buddy, this isn’t ok. This is your wife. This is your marriage…” He could have stoned him in the town square, or raked him through the coals, but he didn’t. My husband is a better man because of that friend. His love allowed him to be honest about my husband’s short comings. Just because he didn’t get angry and condemn Chw, does not mean he accepted his choices. He stepped up, in love, and helped him “carry his burden”, and our marriage (as well as their friendship) is for the better.

THAT is the beauty that the Westboro idea misses…

Stepping off my soapbox now. Tune in tomorrow when I post about something super shallow like the design of my office or a recipe. :) Or maybe I’ll finally take a stand for the truly oppressed and overlooked minority: the people with short arms.