Quote of the Week

"There are two ways of renouncing the devil... and the difference is perhaps the deepest chasm in modern religion. One is to have horror of him because he is so far off; and the other is to have it because he is so near. And no virtue and vice are so much divided as those two virtues." - Chesterton from "The Secret of Flambeau"

Proposition 95- No More Jerks

Recently a friend told me about an experience she had at a local gym. She joined a Jazzersize class and was excited to get into better shape. On her first day the instructor pulled her aside to inform her about a "situation" they were dealing with in the class. The "situation" was that a college-aged girl who displayed some mild disability was "slowing the class down".

My friend was surprised to hear that this would be a problem and proceeded with the class and did not notice any problems arising with this mildly disabled girl. As time went on, the instructor continued to treat this girl poorly and eventually passed around a petition asking the girl to leave the class or only come with "proper supervision". One day this girl was unable to make it to class and the instructor happily pointed out the fact that the class would be better off that day. To the surprise of my friend, the people in the class cheered the absence of this disabled girl.

Being the mother of a disabled child, my friend was so offended by the appalling behavior of the people in the class that she never returned to that particular group of self-absorbed ladies.

Apparently the disabled girl continues to attend the class completely oblivious to the attitudes of the ladies in this class. But I wish that something could be done to open the eyes of these people. Have these grown women forgotten to mature beyond the petty behavior of 13 year olds? Do these grown women really believe that providing a place of acceptance and encouragement for a disabled girl is not a value they should hold? Do these ladies really believe that their disability of thinking they must be perfect is less annoying than someone who lives with physical or mental disabilities?

The sad thing about this group of ladies is that they probably represent a cross section of our culture that includes, teachers, government leaders, mothers, wives, and most frightening, Christians. I cannot even imagine the outrage that God must feel towards His people that treat others this way. Could it be that Christians who are this self-absorbed will one day hear Jesus say, "Depart from me... for I never knew you."

We cannot let this continue.