Wednesday, November 22

On Michael Richards...

So... mostly likely, we've all had the opportunity to see the video. We've all been repulsed at the racial hatred that spewed from the man's mouth. "Could this be KRAMER?" No, it's Michael Richards. "Kramer" is a figment of the imagination; a character from The Seinfeld Show that was created to make us laugh... Kramer made us laugh; his "creator", Michael Richards, didn't come close to doing that...

After the incident, Richards made an attempt (if you want to call it that) to apologize on national TV (The Letterman Show)... and, admittedly, I tried to somewhat defend Richards earlier, because he said he's not a racist... but the truth is: what a person is deep down inside eventually comes out... especially under pressure. If you shake up a bottle of Coke , and remove the top... Ginger Ale doesn't shoot out; Coke does. And, believe it or not, what's true for soda... is true for people. What is hovering around down inside of us will at some point in time fly out of our mouths. Because what the Bible says is true: "Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34). Or, as The Message puts it, "It's your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words."

We all have to face up to what's inside of us. When we fly off on angry tirades just because we think we can - and we try to justify it ("She had that coming!" or "That's what he gets!"), we're just rationalizing sin. Here's the big question: HOW DO WE RESPOND WHEN WE'RE WRONGED? Usually, we respond according to how we feel at the moment (angry, hurt, upset), and we feel justified... because "what goes around comes around", right? I mean, if they hadn't said what they said, I wouldn't have responded how I did! Well, there's at least a couple of things wrong with that: 1) It's immature! Point blank... no need to even expound on that. 2) It's not pleasing to God, who says to "pray for those who persecute you" (Matt. 5:44), and "Do not take revenge" (Rom. 12:19).

We all have to fight the temptation to lash out when we feel we've been wronged... and for those of us who feel "justified" in doing so, Jesus leaves us with something to consider: "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matt. 12:36-37).

Until later,
PD

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