Recently in our town, a godly mother of ten lost her life in an automobile accident, while her 15 year old son was driving. I've never met the family, but they were close to some friends of mine. Since then, I've often wondered about the young man and the agony he must experience day after day, for the rest of his life; feeling guilty (although he did nothing wrong) for his mother's death.
But it angered me beyond belief when the local news villainized this woman for not buckling her seat-belt. In the face of horrific tragedy, they even had the gall to berate the family for the outcome! Comments on the News Journal web page were so cruel and condemning that it caused me to weep, praying that the family wasn't reading such ugliness...
Before I go a step farther, let me assure everyone that I do wear a seat belt. It's a habit. And I always buckle my little ones. But there are times, especially while traveling, that it becomes necessary to unbuckle myself to reach one of them, or pick their bottle off the car floor. Am I villain for this?
Our society has no problem condoning homosexuality, adultery, fornication, and abortion; but has the nerve to snub a grief-stricken family for a seat-belt?
What about our children? "Good moms" will sterilize their bottles or pacifiers, and will wipe their hands and faces instantly when just a little dirt is evident. But they have no problem sticking those same youngsters in front of a tube, to saturate their minds with filth and garbage.
While our culture has become obsessed with inoculating our children from germs, they encourage them to wallow in sin. But it's not just our society. How many times do we do the same thing? How often do we make a big deal out of something like cigarettes or alcohol, yet ignore issues of eternal importance?
Oh, may we refrain from this hypocrisy that "strains at a gnat, and swallows a camel." (Matthew 23:24)
That is sad about that mother. I pray the family is comforted in the knowledge that the Lord didn't condemn her at the Golden Gates, that he just opened his arms and welcomed her in!
ReplyDeleteWhat you said would really makes me (and hopefully others) think twice about pointing fingers at others. I think even we as Christians have that problem among ourselves so often.
So true, Morganne. Like Job's "friends" we want to point fingers at those experiencing tragedy, because it somehow makes us feel immune. But the truth is, the Lord's mercy alone is what preserves any of us, until the time He calls us out of this world.
ReplyDeleteMy heart grieves most of all for the boy. I just can't imagine his grief!
Wow, that is SO sad... especially for the boy... and it is sad that after such a tragedy all they could talk about was the seatbelt.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that as Christians we want to make such a big deal out of just certain sins. I know for me personally, it is so easy to look at other people's problems or sins and think I know how to "fix" them, and not deal with sin in my own life. Sad story, but good reminder.
Re-reading this, I sounded pretty vehement...but really didn't mean it like that.
ReplyDeleteI've just been thinking a lot about the fact that we tend to major on minors and vise-versa. I wasn't trying to attack anyone but myself.