Hello Everyone,
I'm running a little later than normal today. I have my grandson coming soon, so I won't bore you with any details today.
I want to talk about how we hurt one another in the name of righteousness. Years ago, I was an upstanding member in my community which happened to be a church. That was my community. I really didn't socialize outside of my church members. My husband (at the time) and I went to Bible studies and I was the church secretary for a couple of years. I sang solos a lot on Sunday mornings. I taught Sunday School, helped out in the nursery......are you getting the picture?.....the works. Church was my life. If I am to be honest, most of that was due to the fact that I was a hungry new believer. Hungry for the meat of the matter. I was not happy in my marriage and I was doing everything I could to keep it together. Including bullying my husband to follow the same path.
Somewhere around the 8th & 9th year of our marriage, it started to fall apart. The church people I knew well, held me accountable for the end of my marriage. To be clear, I had expressed to my best friend at the time (a wife of an elder at the church) that I was struggling with some feelings for the guy I worked for. Next thing I knew I was being told I HAD to quit my job and the pastor was literally screaming at me over the phone about how I was destroying two marriages by helping this other man keep his restaurant open. Their family's only livelihood. After being screamed at, I told that Pastor I would never come back to that church again.
I eventually had a two week fling with a guy I met while out dancing one night. I felt a lot of guilt and told my husband what I'd done. He forgave me because he too had cheated.....quite a few times. But because he continued to go to that church, that entire congregation stood behind him. I was ignored when I saw people I went to church and bible studies with. In fact, in this little community, I see them often and only some will actually acknowledge they know me, even to this day. I have not felt comfortable in a church since that time. I was accused of busting up a marriage because I helped my boss provide for his family.
There is so much more to this story. I wish I could give you the details but I just don't have the time or the strength in me to revisit that too much. The good news is that it doesn't matter to Jesus. I am the church or rather a member of it. Each believer is the church. The church is not a building where we go to worship. Our bodies are His temple and we can worship where we stand.
I'm not saying that going to church is unhealthy or even bad for you. But if you've experienced unfair judgment from the "church", you're not alone. I've found a group of people who feel the same way I do and they help people like me who have been traumatized by people who spoke in the name of love to accuse me. If any of you have an interest in knowing about this. You can send me a message or comment and I'll provide you with some information. You're not the only one who has been unjustly cast out so to speak. There's a whole family waiting to help.
Until next time, be good to each other and yourself. Worship where you stand and enjoy the fruits of the Spirit. Spread love and The Good News. Love, Patty
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