I Hate What Our World Has Become

I hate what our world has become. Yesterday I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things on the shopping list Jen gave me. As I was wandering in the aisles hopelessly looking for dried cranberries there was a cart with two young children in it. Their mom was just a few steps away closely examining her proposed purchase. I wanted to stop and try to strike up a conversation with the two little ones. I love to talk to children and treat them like real people.

Then I remembered an incident at the church the night before when we were doing the harvest festival. 100’s of children were in our building, most with their parents. I was roaming the halls doing my Pastoral duty and had stopped to talk to one of our men who was helping direct traffic. He was sitting in a chair and had a large bag of candy. As each child or group of children came by he directed them down the proper hallway and offered them a piece of candy. Most children eagerly checked through his bag and took the piece they wanted. Some asked for two.

One little girl drew back in fear when she was spoken to. She just stopped, looked at John with a blank stare and didn’t move. I assume it was her mother who came along just then, looked over the situation, reached into John’s bag for a piece of candy, and said to John. “It’s ok, you’re a male.” She took the little girls hand and off they went down the hall.

I don’t know the family, I don’t know the story. There may be a history of abuse or it could just be our culture of fear. But remembering that incident I passed on by the two children in the grocery cart and continued the search for dried cranberries. I never found them by the way. But that is ok, she wanted fresh cranberries anyway. I finally figured that out.

The incident in the hall reminded me of another conversation earlier in the week. Jen and I were at lunch with a guest preacher for our State Convention . The conversation somehow came around to accountability. He told us of his accountability partner whom he has to answer the accountability questions for. In the conversation he made reference to being able to say he wasn’t alone with a woman. “If I am on an elevator by myself,” he said, “and a lone woman gets on, I get off.”

I guess I understand the implication. “If I stay away from being alone with women I won’t be tempted.” Or is the implication, “If the elevator door opens on the next floor and I am seen in this elevator alone with this woman it will be bad for my reputation.” Either way, what a mess our world has become.

Later that day I was at the airport awaiting another arrival. I was standing at the coffee bar line waiting to pay when a traveling woman stepped into line behind me. My first thought was, “Gee, should I get out of line so we won’t be seen in line together?” I laughed first at my self, then at the whole situation. I went into the waiting area and called Jen and told her, “If I am on an elevator and a woman gets on, I am not getting off. Is that ok?” Her response. “Huh?” “What are you talking about?”

Did I say, I hate what our world has become?