Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Now Come the Olympic Games

 
            The headline stories of the past month have been child abuse, college athletics, and murder in a theater complex. During the same period but relegated to the bottom of the front page have been the Syrian civil war, the American presidential race, and the ongoing global financial crisis.
            Now the lead stories are from London. The Queen of England does a cameo role with cinema’s James Bond, and Paul McCartney sings rock’s quintessential nah, nah, nah, nahs of Hey Jude. Some 10,500 athletes are competing in the official events. Favorites fail; unknowns triumph. Heart-warming stories emerge – like that of a legally blind South Korean archer winning the gold medal and setting a world record in the process or an American cancer survivor.
            So which is it? Murder or games? Syrian shelling or spectacular fireworks? Royalty and superstars or executioners and monsters? Should you and I fall on our faces in tears or stand up to cheer? Do the contrasts confuse you?
            This is life! Reality follows no script. There is – and always will be – a random mix of good and evil, fine fortune and unwarranted grief. We could wish for happy endings to every story, but life just doesn’t work that way. Maybe the worst thing of all is that some people think that there is a script and that people are either “getting what they deserve” or “living out the will of God.”
            The truth of the matter is very, very different. Most of what happens in this world is not the will of God, but our goal must be to react to everything in a way that honors his will for humanity. People aren’t always getting what they deserve, or we can’t make sense of Joseph in an Egyptian prison or Jesus on a Roman cross. History is replete with pious martyrs in graves and evil tyrants on thrones.
            It must be this way. Life now is a probationary and testing time; heaven comes at the end and as the reward for faith. If everything “worked right” for those who are Christians, we’d all be Christians just to avoid the hassle and stress. If suffering were always and only one’s “just desserts,” why should we feel sympathy or show kindness rather than kicking her while she’s already down?
            If you’re into the Olympic Games or long walks or family dinners, enjoy. Be grateful, and share the delight. If you are walking through a dark valley of illness or bankruptcy or loneliness, mourn. Be humble, and ask God for strength.
            Life is a mysterious mix that refuses to yield to bumper-sticker solutions. Your situation today neither tells God’s opinion of you nor reveals your worth as a man or woman in his image. It is simply what it is. How you choose to deal with it translates your faith into deeds and defines your relationship with God.
            “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12 NIV).

Monday, July 9, 2012

Shall We Bully the Bullies?

 
            Bullying has become a topic of national concern. Some of the conversation may be overblown, for who doesn’t come in for some ribbing over his big ears, her first pair of eyeglasses, or a crush on the girl in his Sunday School class?     
But bullying crosses a line that is pretty clear and obvious. If it started as “good-natured fun,” it has progressed now to the point of bringing anger or tears to the surface. Past that point, the razzing or teasing has become mean-spirited. It is being used to wound or humiliate. Bullying is tripping, shoving, or hitting someone to inflict physical harm. It is mean-spirited taunting that inflicts emotional pain. It is gossiping or lying to humiliate or exclude someone.
            Today’s highly disconnected world of people who “connect” through social media can be especially cruel. Fragile persons who have been mocked and taunted via cruel postings have taken their lives as a result of such behavior.
            One of the worst bullying episodes of late involved a 68-year-old grandmother and bus monitor who was targeted by a posse of junior high boys on a school bus. Karen Klein was verbally assaulted for ten minutes or more with cruel affronts ranging from her weight to her son’s suicide some ten years ago. The video of their taunts and sneers went viral on YouTube.
            Guess what? The bullies immediately became the targets of vindictive taunts themselves. They have been reaping what they sowed, all right. Here are just a few posts about the merciless mob that attacked Ms. Klein:
  • “These kids need to be found and have their #@*% teeth knocked out.”
  • “These punks are already lost causes. Their parents are worthless, incompetents who should never have been allowed to breed.”
  • “Please, can we lock these punks in a room with Jerry Sandusky ASAP!!!”
But what about this whole business of tit-for-tat and putting it back in their faces? So long as verbal abuse, malicious threats, and physical violence are met with more of the same, the vicious cycle is never going to end.
I hope the school officials and parents punished the boys appropriately and that they saw the error of their ways and apologized. They shouldn’t get by with it. Having said that, it’s amazing how self-righteous and judgmental all of us are tempted to be when something like this happens. I am bad at it. I am too quick to judge the people who judge and to be hateful with folks who have been hateful.
Lord, forgive our foolish ways; teach us the ways of peace. Help us neither to insult nor to retaliate, neither to bully nor to bully the bullies. Instead, help us to hear this word above the temptation: “Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it” (1 Peter 3:9 NLT).