We’re Going the Wrong Way
Today, I was confronted in Walmart by another shopper. I had run into Walmart to get a few items that were not available at Foodlion which is where we have been shopping since the coronavirus hysteria began because they aren’t, as of yet, being overdramatic with socialist behaviors and requirements. When I shop, I don’t look around for someone I know (sorry if you’re there and I miss you.) Even in the best of circumstances, I have my list; I go in and see how fast I can get what I need and get out. I don’t enjoy shopping….unless it’s plants or yarn.
This woman, who was probably a few years older than me, (old enough to know better) shoved her cart across the aisle just seconds before I passed by her, effectively blocking the aisle and forcing a confrontation with me or forcing me to turn and go back the way I came…Who does that? Unfortunately for her, I was not raised to turn around and run, and I don’t back down from bullies.
I would love to say I was really religious, and I thought about how I could use this situation to be a witness for God… Unfortunately, that is not how it went down, and I was merely praying: Lord, don’t let me do or say anything that would bring dishonor to you. I will be honest, though, she lit my fuse! My anger flared in a red hot second: the backwoods redneck in me and my Irish temper warred with my better judgement for a split second, before I firmly told her:
“Excuse you. Move your cart.” I am thankful that the Kelz was waiting with Dad in the car and had not chosen to come in with me, because her being there would have triggered my mama bear side, obviously it would have made my reaction not so eloquent.
This stranger responded, “You’re walking the wrong way. There’s arrows.” There were indeed stickers on the floor pointing which way people were to be herded down the aisle.
I was very flippant and very irritated when I responded, “Yes, there are arrows, but those arrows aren’t law. I don’t follow dictation, and you don’t have to be so hateful.”
Then I walked away and continued my shopping with no further incident. Was I harming her in any way? No. Was I interfering with her in any way? No. I was just in there grabbing the few things that I can’t get somewhere else. Maybe it is prideful, but I refuse to keep looking at the floor in order to pay attention to arrows telling which direction I should be walking in. I am not cattle, and I will not be herded where someone else wants me to go.
As humans, we are going the wrong way!
I am a student of human behavior: I’ve had 8 years and over 20 courses of psychology; I’ve been a people watcher since I was a child; I’ve read all about the depravity of human kind in the Bible; so very little surprises me. On the contrary, usually I find that people are really quite predictable. What I am seeing right now in society, the way that people are treating one another is a whole new level of depravity. It reminds me very much of the scriptures Paul warned about in II Timothy 3: 1-4
1This know also, that in the last days perilous times -shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
Does this not describe the world in which we live today? Is it not obvious that society is getting worse and worse? People are being encouraged to do to turn each other in, to report businesses, neighbors, family. If it isn’t clear that a massive event is coming, you’re not paying attention.
What happened to me in Walmart brought my mind back to a conversation I had with Monique, a cashier at Foodlion, just a half hour earlier this morning. Monique was telling me about someone who came in and started spraying her with some type of aerosol and wouldn’t even tell her what it was. Who does that?
Referring to the mandates that companies are making on their employees, Monique said, “I never thought I would have to choose between wearing a mask that I can’t breathe in or get fired. I never thought I would have to comply with ridiculous rules or stand firm on my convictions and not being able to support my children.”
What a heartrending choice! How is it that the media and politicians can create such an atmosphere of fear and pandemonium that the general public thinks it is okay to assault people with aerosols, shove carts in people’s paths, treat other people with such disdain and contempt? Not only do they think it is okay to treat people this way, but they are celebrated in doing so. It absolutely boggles my mind. As humans, we are going the wrong way!
Even though I do not buy into the fear-demic, because I research the data instead of believing the panic that is spread by media. The death rate is 0.05% for Covid19 which is half the death rate of the seasonal flu…if the data is accurate. There have been false positives that were not removed, cause of death that was documented as Covid19 when it was not true. I have never and will never shame anyone for believing what is put out by the media (though I will encourage you to educate yourself and not believe everything you’re told without proof). I would never shame someone for obeying all the mandates and recommendations, even when the mandates and recommendations change from week to week. I don’t shame people, because that’s who I am, because that is who God requires me to be, and because that is how God instructs me to treat others. But no one has the right to try to shame me or anyone else for making a different choice. When we try to shame others, we are going the wrong way.
It is, however, very shameful to know that the fear-demic is not the only thing that the media and politicians are using to separate people, to divide the nation, to cause chaos. People are apologizing for being born white. People are kissing the feet of other people and repenting for sins that weren’t even theirs. It is shameful that we are allowing this to happen. Humanity, we are going the wrong way!
Just yesterday, a far-left Democrat Representative by the name of Ayanna Pressley spoke these words on the floor of the House:
“Centuries of institutionalized oppression will not be undone overnight, for racism in America is as structural as the marble pillars of this very institution. With the power of pen we must legislate accountability, dismantle these systems, and move in the direction of justice and healing. The Justice in Policing Act is a critical step forward and I applaud the leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus. But our work is unfinished. There is a rallying cry in communities across the nation. Black Lives Matter is a mandate from the people. It’s time. Pay us what you owe us. Our Black skin is not a crime, it is the beautiful robe of nation builders.” [Retrieved from Trending Politics]
She was right about two things: Having black skin is not a crime, and it is a beautiful robe. BUT this attitude is a crime. This attitude perpetuates “racism.” No one alive today has ever been a slave or owned a slave. The ONLY exception is that of the sex slave trade that is still alive and well, and definitely an evil we need to be fighting together.
Here are a couple facts. One of the first slave owners in the United States was a black man. Other races have been enslaved and there were more white Irish slaves than black slaves. They were treated worse and devalued more. The difference is the Irish, the English, the light skinned slaves, and most of the American Indians do not have their descendants (generations after they were freed) saying and believing the rest of the world owes them something because of the color of skin they were born with. That is the biggest cop-out I have ever heard.
Warning rabbit trail: Government handouts are not free stuff. They are the newest form of slavery, because they don’t teach you to become self-sufficient or allow you to become self-sufficient. In fact, they reward dependency and reduce the help if you make “too much.” The “too much” is not even a livable wage. I can speak with authority on this, because I know from experience it is designed to keep you dependent, never giving enough, and never allowing you to better yourself.
There is only one race, the human race. We were all created by God as equals as we are all one race with only a different amount of melanin in our skin. The fact is that the majority of America is not biased against skin color. Yes, there are a few bad people, and when they break the law, they should be made to pay for their sin against others. The majority of us, though, do not judge other people based on how light or dark their skin is. I will, however, judge you by the fruits you bear like your attitude, your treatment of other people, etc, but not because you have a darker tan than I do.
I am a melting pot…I have seven different nationalities in my ancestry that I know of. I haven’t traced it all the way back and I can’t for all of my ancestors. One reason is one of my Grandmother’s genealogy disappears a few generations back, because American Indians did not keep tax records, birth records, death records, or anything of the sort that would permit tracking ancestry. Maybe I have the perspective of not identifying with any certain people group more than the others, because I am a melting pot…although I will admit I have an affinity for herbalism sparked by my Grandmother’s wisdom and a curiosity about my Irish and Mediterranean ancestry.
I do know one thing, if we traced it all back, we would all arrive at the eight that got off of a really large ship otherwise known as the ARK, and before that, we would be able to trace back to the two who walked in the garden with God. The color of skin was an adaptation the good Lord made into our skin so that we would be able to have the specific amount of defense we needed from the harmful rays of the sun. Nothing more and nothing less. There is no value in skin color beyond that. If we think a shade of skin color is more valuable than another, we are going the wrong way.
No, there was no “white” Jesus or “black” Jesus. He was Jewish. He had olive colored skin. What difference does that make? Apparently, “white” Jesus is an oppressive thing to racists. People! We are going the wrong way!! That is total nonsense being sold to people by an activist for the terrorist group known as Black Lives Matters. I think it’s silliness, but personally, I do not care if they get rid of statues of white Jesus or the war memorials. As a matter of fact, I think they should get rid of ALL of them. TEAR THEM ALL DOWN!! Why? Because they are all idols. Read the commandments carefully if you don’t believe that. Exodus 20:4 says, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:”
It seems like everywhere I look, people are only wanting to divide the nation. Why? Because together we stand and divided we fall. Divided, our nation is weak. It is the modern version of “binding the strong man of the house.” Matthew 12:25-30 That’s the wrong way! So stop giving the media and the politicians, the looters, the rioters, the protestors, the haters, and the crazy people in Walmart the satisfaction of dividing us!!!
Matthew 22:37-40 says, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
That sums it up: ALL lives matter to God, and if they matter to God, then they should matter to us. All lives, from the unborn to the eldest; from the lightest skin to the darkest, God knew them all when he knit them together in the womb Psalms 139:13-16 and Jesus died for all.
The Spreading Love & Hope Challenge this week is examine the way you treat people: family, friends, strangers….are you shoving carts to block other people’s path?
