Challenged
I have had a difficult relationship with my older sister for about the last 20 years. When we were growing up, we were as close as two siblings can be. She introduced me to smoking to cover the fact that she had started. When we got old enough, we used to go to a local dance place called Renees every Thursday for college ID night. Many of my fond memories are doing things or going places with her. Most of them involved partying or going to events but that is where memories are made. Around 1983, I joined the service and went off to Oklahoma for three years. She came out to visit me once and we went to Corpus Christi for a weekend.
The next time I saw her was at my younger sisters wedding. I could tell that things had changed but not exactly how. I knew that she had become disgusted with the singles scene, the drinking, partying and was lonely. She was looking for purpose and meaning in her life and someone at work recommended going to church. The church she chose was exactly 180 degrees from where she was in her life. There was no drinking, smoking, or partying of any kind. God did not approve. It was a staunch Baptist congregation that preached fire and brimstone and hellfire. In her mind, it was atonement for her sins and she grabbed onto it with both hands. Though it, she met her current husband who she married about a year later. Jim, who had been a diesel mechanic, heard the calling and decided to go into the ministry and preach the word of the Lord.
At the reception for my younger sister's wedding, we had the toast all set up for the bride and groom. My older sister was all upset because a wine glass represented that she was dringing wine even though there was sparkling grape juice in the glass. She asked what I thought and I told her she was being selfish. It was not her wedding and that accomodations had been made to allow her to toast without having to ingest wine. I could tell that was not what she wanted to hear and she became upset and stormed off. That was the straw that broke the back of our relationship. From that point forward, we have never been the same.
We are friendly and cordial and I would still do anything I could for her, but she started wearing this brand of Christianity that spits in the face of how I understand the teachings of Jesus. Her understanding of Christ's teachings allows her to hate and despise those who are different. She justified as to why Black people are inferior in God's eyes by telling me that because Noah's son Ham saw his naked and drunk that Noah cursed him and God turned him black and sent him to Africa. I have read the passage on Noah and see nothing about a color change or a trip to Africa. Maybe there is another translation that gives a broader understanding of what happened but even if you accept their version as Gospel (pardon the pun), you need to look at at the teachings of Jesus to see how we are to treat people. He hung out with the "undesirables" of His world and forces us to focus on how we treat everybody. There is no one unworthy of our love and I just don't feel that my older sister is able to believe in that. It is easier to find people to blame for all of the world's ills than it is to work to create a world where those ills are worked on by everyone.
I pray for her daily and hope that she will recognize Christ's real message of love and understand that we are to love one another as He love's us.
Icool
Cobb
The next time I saw her was at my younger sisters wedding. I could tell that things had changed but not exactly how. I knew that she had become disgusted with the singles scene, the drinking, partying and was lonely. She was looking for purpose and meaning in her life and someone at work recommended going to church. The church she chose was exactly 180 degrees from where she was in her life. There was no drinking, smoking, or partying of any kind. God did not approve. It was a staunch Baptist congregation that preached fire and brimstone and hellfire. In her mind, it was atonement for her sins and she grabbed onto it with both hands. Though it, she met her current husband who she married about a year later. Jim, who had been a diesel mechanic, heard the calling and decided to go into the ministry and preach the word of the Lord.
At the reception for my younger sister's wedding, we had the toast all set up for the bride and groom. My older sister was all upset because a wine glass represented that she was dringing wine even though there was sparkling grape juice in the glass. She asked what I thought and I told her she was being selfish. It was not her wedding and that accomodations had been made to allow her to toast without having to ingest wine. I could tell that was not what she wanted to hear and she became upset and stormed off. That was the straw that broke the back of our relationship. From that point forward, we have never been the same.
We are friendly and cordial and I would still do anything I could for her, but she started wearing this brand of Christianity that spits in the face of how I understand the teachings of Jesus. Her understanding of Christ's teachings allows her to hate and despise those who are different. She justified as to why Black people are inferior in God's eyes by telling me that because Noah's son Ham saw his naked and drunk that Noah cursed him and God turned him black and sent him to Africa. I have read the passage on Noah and see nothing about a color change or a trip to Africa. Maybe there is another translation that gives a broader understanding of what happened but even if you accept their version as Gospel (pardon the pun), you need to look at at the teachings of Jesus to see how we are to treat people. He hung out with the "undesirables" of His world and forces us to focus on how we treat everybody. There is no one unworthy of our love and I just don't feel that my older sister is able to believe in that. It is easier to find people to blame for all of the world's ills than it is to work to create a world where those ills are worked on by everyone.
I pray for her daily and hope that she will recognize Christ's real message of love and understand that we are to love one another as He love's us.
Icool
Cobb
posted by Cobb at
7:32 AM
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