Ella FlešchGod Forgives; Man Does Not
11 x 8 Inches
mixed media on paper
~*~*~
i have spoken about forging new friendships and how difficult it is for us to do as adults; especialy introverted ones. i have many acquaintences through both jobs now, but there are only one or two people i would wish to spend time with away from our jobs.
i had lunch with one such lady two weeks ago and she is a hoot and fun to be around, but i think there may be some real hard, underlying issues based on some of the things she told me. she also has a tendency to be negative and bitter and a bit gossipy (as am i for even typing this), so i have already felt myself pulling away and not forging the friendship as solidly as i had initially desired.
i worked with this gal at the hospital yesterday and found it to be an exceedingly trying day. her humor is a bit raunchy and difficult to stomach at times (i cannot even bring myself to lend an example or two, please forgive me and trust what i am saying), and we since were actually slow, i made sure i found some work to do that kept me busy. one particular moment i found myself at the desk with her and another girl as an electrician walked up to ask if we had seen the two guys he was supposed to be installing outlets with (we had not).
he was a young guy, 20-something, with medium-sized spacers in his ears, a pierced nose, an oddly-placed piercing on the back of his neck, i think a tat but am unsure. however, he was what i would call a cutie: nice, easy smile, polite, kind eyes, friendly personality. we sent him on his way and i got back to what i was typing.
"piercings like that are of the devil. so are tattoos," says my newly-estranged-almost-good-friend.
"excuse me?" was my bemused response.......
"piercings like that are of the devil - haven't you ever read Leviticus?"
stunned silence, but only for a moment.
"uh, yeah. those were the Laws that Jesus came to fulfill, but His deal wasn't about sticking to all the Laws, but having mercy and love for your neighbor. according to Leviticus, there are a lot of folks i know who are devout Christians you would apparently think are hell-bound because they eat red meat *rare*, and i would be one of them..."
(she is nodding in agreement)
i continued on, "tell me, do you eat shellfish?"
"yes."
"they are considered unclean, bottom-feeders, though!"
"i don't eat catfish, which is a bottom-feeder, and SHRIMP SWIM!!"
oy.
"...how about pork?"
"yes --- but that's clean!"
"oh, riiiight -- {captain sarcasm reared her ugly head for a second} -- then you don't obviously adhere to the rules you are applying to those you meet for less than one minute prior to snapping to a judgment!"
(i could feel my bp going up, just a tad.)
"piercings and tattoos are OF THE DEVIL and ANYONE WHO HAS THEM IS OF THE DEVIL."
i was stunned. i have met some strongly-opinionated people in my life but this was over-the-top.
"so if i told you i had tattoos, you would patently say i was *of the devil*?"
"yes."
"i am so sorry to hear you feel that way."
i got up and walked away because i know myself well enough to realize when it is no longer love that i am talking with, but anger.
later on in the day, she said "it's obvious you have tattoos or you wouldn't be so sensitive about the issue..."
"yes, i do - they are Judeo-Christian tats and i actually made the decision to get them when i was 40..."
"that's different."
"how so? because you find them to be in good taste? are you not simply applying the Law to the things you find to be objectionable because it isn't your taste? -- i guess pierced ears are different, too?"
"yes, because they look nice."
*~~sigh~~*
i am so glad God knows my heart and i will not be judged at the very end by *man* - His ways are so much higher than ours; i am going to assume for the sake of this Word being a salve that it is a far-reaching statement...
i had lunch with one such lady two weeks ago and she is a hoot and fun to be around, but i think there may be some real hard, underlying issues based on some of the things she told me. she also has a tendency to be negative and bitter and a bit gossipy (as am i for even typing this), so i have already felt myself pulling away and not forging the friendship as solidly as i had initially desired.
i worked with this gal at the hospital yesterday and found it to be an exceedingly trying day. her humor is a bit raunchy and difficult to stomach at times (i cannot even bring myself to lend an example or two, please forgive me and trust what i am saying), and we since were actually slow, i made sure i found some work to do that kept me busy. one particular moment i found myself at the desk with her and another girl as an electrician walked up to ask if we had seen the two guys he was supposed to be installing outlets with (we had not).
he was a young guy, 20-something, with medium-sized spacers in his ears, a pierced nose, an oddly-placed piercing on the back of his neck, i think a tat but am unsure. however, he was what i would call a cutie: nice, easy smile, polite, kind eyes, friendly personality. we sent him on his way and i got back to what i was typing.
"piercings like that are of the devil. so are tattoos," says my newly-estranged-almost-good-friend.
"excuse me?" was my bemused response.......
"piercings like that are of the devil - haven't you ever read Leviticus?"
stunned silence, but only for a moment.
"uh, yeah. those were the Laws that Jesus came to fulfill, but His deal wasn't about sticking to all the Laws, but having mercy and love for your neighbor. according to Leviticus, there are a lot of folks i know who are devout Christians you would apparently think are hell-bound because they eat red meat *rare*, and i would be one of them..."
(she is nodding in agreement)
i continued on, "tell me, do you eat shellfish?"
"yes."
"they are considered unclean, bottom-feeders, though!"
"i don't eat catfish, which is a bottom-feeder, and SHRIMP SWIM!!"
oy.
"...how about pork?"
"yes --- but that's clean!"
"oh, riiiight -- {captain sarcasm reared her ugly head for a second} -- then you don't obviously adhere to the rules you are applying to those you meet for less than one minute prior to snapping to a judgment!"
(i could feel my bp going up, just a tad.)
"piercings and tattoos are OF THE DEVIL and ANYONE WHO HAS THEM IS OF THE DEVIL."
i was stunned. i have met some strongly-opinionated people in my life but this was over-the-top.
"so if i told you i had tattoos, you would patently say i was *of the devil*?"
"yes."
"i am so sorry to hear you feel that way."
i got up and walked away because i know myself well enough to realize when it is no longer love that i am talking with, but anger.
later on in the day, she said "it's obvious you have tattoos or you wouldn't be so sensitive about the issue..."
"yes, i do - they are Judeo-Christian tats and i actually made the decision to get them when i was 40..."
"that's different."
"how so? because you find them to be in good taste? are you not simply applying the Law to the things you find to be objectionable because it isn't your taste? -- i guess pierced ears are different, too?"
"yes, because they look nice."
*~~sigh~~*
i am so glad God knows my heart and i will not be judged at the very end by *man* - His ways are so much higher than ours; i am going to assume for the sake of this Word being a salve that it is a far-reaching statement...
Not as man sees does God see,
because man sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart.
1 Samuel 16:7
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