Thursday, August 4, 2011

Now that THAT'S done...

Let's address something else.

In my facebook status the other day, I posted a message toward an abusive spouse who had threatened the life of a family member. I used the words "son of a bitch" and "fuck."

Those who know me -- TRULY know me -- shouldn't be surprised by my message nor my language. I'm a foul-mouthed person. It's a flaw I have and I've always battled with it. I'm a work in progress and believe me when I tell you that progress is SLOW. I make no apologies because again...I am who I am and I don't believe in censoring myself because what I say, think or do might make someone else uncomfortable. If you choose to unfriend me, that's your choice and I won't deny you that right.

That being said, I'd like to address the fact that my former pastor publicly admonished me for my "abusive language" in the post and unfriended me.

Again, if you choose to unfriend me, that's your choice. HOWEVER, the thing I have a problem with is that this "Man of God" didn't address what the post was about, nor did he offer to pray about the situation, much less find out what the situation was to begin with. He didn't offer any Christian insight. Didn't offer anything Christian whatsoever, in my opinion. Instead, he took my words at face value, made a judgment and cut me out of his life.

BOOM.

Just. Like. That.

Now, I realize that I have much to learn about God and the bible and everything that goes along with those two things. However, I've been in deep discussions with God lately about a lot of topics and this particular event came up yesterday in my prayers. Call me naive, but I like to think that my God is forgiving, patient and tolerant of my flaws. He knows I'm not perfect and that I don't try to be. He knows I've got faults and that I sin daily. He also knows that He made me that way.

He knows I can't learn without lessons and that every action I do has consequences -- as do I.

Unfortunately, the lesson in this recent unfriending is that when I needed my pastor's faith and beliefs, he wasn't there for me. Instead, he judged me and tossed me aside like a worthless piece of scrap.

I could be wrong, but for some reason, I don't see God being very happy with that action. Jesus himself befriended addicts, prostitutes and the socially scorned. I do know that much. I also know that in all the chapters of the bible, not once does it say "You shall be outcast for your use of the F bomb." I'm not justifying my language or the anger in which my post was made. But what I do justify is the fact that God loves me despite all that. I have NO doubts whatsoever in that.

What I do doubt, however, is my former pastor's ability to lead an entire congregation closer to God when he can't even overlook my faults as a human being. That's more heart-breaking than anything else.

I love God, but right now, my opinion about religion isn't so high.

(*Disclaimer: This post isn't meant to invite attacks regarding my religious beliefs, their "correct/incorrectness" or your interpretation of the Bible.)

1 comment:

  1. God doesn't unfriend you because you use the f-bomb, human beings do. That being said, a pastor (or even former pastor) has a responsibility to Christians to show his own Christianity in the best possible light, regardless of his own personal feelings, and that means...ignoring the f-bomb and putting God in the middle of whatever it is he's doing or liking or not liking. He failed. God forgives our mistakes. Human beings forget that God calls us to do so as well.

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