I can't seem to escape it. From cable news reports and interviews, to facebook friends calling to forgive her, Paula Deen has been everywhere recently. When the reports of her deposition (that happened a while ago) surfaced, in which she was asked if she ever used the 'N' word, she responded with 'of course.' Much has been made of this, and this is not a blog post about Paula Deen. What became disturbing was the factions that became evident when the news became available drew people into choosing sides. You were either with Paula Deen or against her. Nothing can be that simple.
What disturbed me as a Christian is the call to forgiveness....blanket forgiveness. "It is time to fogive Paula Deen" or "Click like if you agree with Paula." OF COURSE, none of this really began to become important until money was at stake. Corporations and endorsements removed themselves from Paula's empire. Paula's people did their best to run damage control and she got in front of tv's and newspapers with the best posture of contrition and simply stated (As she cried) "I is what I is and I ain't gonna change."
The problem with forgiveness is that there is some expectation of change. When there is no expectation of change within the person, it is called defiance. Calling for forgiveness of a person who is not contrite or truly remorseful is within the Christian code of ethics. We do it all the time, we forgive people who don't ask for it. We turn the other cheek when it is foolish to do so. BUT somewhere in there we ought to account for what forgiveness looks like. And anyone that has received forgiveness will tell you, accountability is the hardest part. To have the wrongs that we have done, the sins and the shame we carry are all put in front of us before God and one another.....we are then freed from these things.
Scripture tells us that "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." - 1 John 1:8-10
But then, you must acknowledge that what you have done is sin, which prompts me to ask: Why didn't anyone bring up Alec Baldwin's faux pas?
-Praying Attention - Pastor Andy
What disturbed me as a Christian is the call to forgiveness....blanket forgiveness. "It is time to fogive Paula Deen" or "Click like if you agree with Paula." OF COURSE, none of this really began to become important until money was at stake. Corporations and endorsements removed themselves from Paula's empire. Paula's people did their best to run damage control and she got in front of tv's and newspapers with the best posture of contrition and simply stated (As she cried) "I is what I is and I ain't gonna change."
The problem with forgiveness is that there is some expectation of change. When there is no expectation of change within the person, it is called defiance. Calling for forgiveness of a person who is not contrite or truly remorseful is within the Christian code of ethics. We do it all the time, we forgive people who don't ask for it. We turn the other cheek when it is foolish to do so. BUT somewhere in there we ought to account for what forgiveness looks like. And anyone that has received forgiveness will tell you, accountability is the hardest part. To have the wrongs that we have done, the sins and the shame we carry are all put in front of us before God and one another.....we are then freed from these things.
Scripture tells us that "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." - 1 John 1:8-10
But then, you must acknowledge that what you have done is sin, which prompts me to ask: Why didn't anyone bring up Alec Baldwin's faux pas?
-Praying Attention - Pastor Andy
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