It isn't meant to offend anyone. Perhaps it is more a check on reality, accusations made that were unfounded, portraying yourself in one manner to the public but behind the scenes a completely different person, and taking religion to the extreme.
Read on...
My Wife…
In August, my wife
Joan (aka Sassy) and I celebrated 15 years since our first date and on October 17th,
we will celebrate our wedding anniversary.
Yes, I am a guy who can actually remember our anniversary. Because of this, I wanted to take a few
minutes to characterize a woman no one knows better than I do.
Joan is honest and not
passive aggressive- She says how she feels and doesn’t hold back. If it’s positive, she’ll sing praises and if
it’s negative, she won’t sugar coat it. Some
people are scared by this and don’t know how to take it but one thing is for
sure -- you will always know where you stand with her.
She’s a loyal friend –
Show her the same kind of respect, support, and honesty that you would like to
receive and she will stand by you to the end and defend you even if it means
she takes heat from others.
She’s creative- Enough
said. :)
She’s my best friend -
As a guy who likes to do guy things it always brings a smile to my face when I
realize there is no where I’d rather be than with my wife and how comfortable
it always is to share the same space with her even when there is nothing to say
at all. To know she knows my thoughts
and I know hers when things are good or bad puts us at ease.
It is my love for Joan
and my belief in the future of humanity that has me sharing the following
comments with you today. I hold no
grudges and challenge all those who read this to contemplate my words. Consider this day if everyone you meet you
give the same fair consideration, acceptance, and friendship regardless of the
extent of their religious beliefs. Lastly,
consider that people don’t have to have the same religious beliefs to have
similar strong family and moral values.
Some of you who follow
this blog may know that recently my wife has received some negative comments
and accusations from a woman who openly promotes her Christian beliefs. I’m concerned that this woman has abused her
standing as a leader within an online group to unfairly influence others with
similar religious views. There were
comments of bullying and tampering with her email account. This resulted in some negative consequences
and snap judgments regarding the woman I love and know to have outstanding
moral values as well as strength of character and honesty beyond reproach. A woman who respects privacy and would never
consider tampering with another’s email account.
As I learned of the
comments and actions that have transpired over the last days/weeks, I sat
shocked and to be honest I struggled to keep from becoming outraged and angry. Not outraged that people would unfriend my
wife – Facebook friends come and go and we’re adult enough to realize Facebook
isn’t real life; it’s a tool and not a true test of friendship. I’m not even angry with the woman slinging
the mud – disappointed but not angry. I
truly have no desire to go Old Testament with “an eye for an eye” approach with
someone I have never met. What bothers
me the most about all of this goes much deeper.
Bottom line, I can’t believe in this day and age that a true practicing
Christian would leverage their religious beliefs for the purpose of gaining
support in order to segregate and isolate another person who has nothing but
the best of intents. In addition, it
worries me that others would follow these words without question instead of
taking into consideration the possibility that even the most Christian person
might have biased feelings that could cause them to misrepresent the facts and
mischaracterize a person.
I was raised Catholic
but I am no bible scholar. I do have my
own kind of faith. I firmly believe life
will work out for the best even though I never embraced any one organized
religion to a significant degree. My
parents instilled in me strong core values.
I learned the difference between right and wrong and I grew into my own
person. From this, I took what good old
common sense and decency say are the right things to embrace as a human being. Many of the commandments are good common
sense rules to live by no matter what you believe in. The concept of treating others like you would
like to be treated is another one. In
addition, of course, it shouldn’t take Christianity to realize that everyone
deserves forgiveness and that regardless of beliefs, race, or gender those same
people are deserving of the same compassion, consideration, and friendship as
anyone else.
Hearing how my wife
was portrayed I was very disappointed to see religious beliefs used in a manner
to discriminate, segregate, and otherwise make someone to feel like they are
less of a person than someone else because they didn’t have similarly strong
religious beliefs. Is this really what
Christianity teaches? I can’t help but
recall that forgiveness is one of the cornerstones of Christianity. Treating others with kindness and respect is
also a basic concept of any good religion.
Besides a belief in a higher power, what is religion? At its core, is a set of shared faith based
rules and morals that society can follow for the purpose of helping us become a
world of tolerant and loving people who treat others as they wish to be treated
-- with kindness, love, respect, and forgiveness. The bible is full of passages that promote
these very values.
As a society, we are
working to erase racism discrimination and intolerance slowly but surely. As a human being, it truly saddens me when
religious values (in the wrong hands) are skewed to attack those with different
beliefs. When did it become ok to take a
step backwards and use differences in religious beliefs as a reason to
discriminate? When will we evolve enough
as a society to not wield Christianity like a sword against those who do not
have the same beliefs and use it as a loving hug instead? When will we accept others regardless of
their beliefs and not judge? Just some
things to think about.
