Sunday Thought, March 15, 2015: Teaching Good Values

http://www.jrn.com/tmj4/news/Basketball-players-defend-cheerleader-targeted-by-bully-295810851.html

The header for this post is a link to a news story.  It is a story of courage, and love, and values we have forgotten, or never were taught.  It is a story of growing up different, of discrimination, and of bullying.  It is a story of an eighth grade basketball team and their ability to stand up for one of their own.  And, in this, it is a story of maturity beyond their young years, and a story we might all learn something from.  I invite you to watch it before you read this post.

I was going to use the photo of the young girl this story centers around, but that just didn't seem right.  Instead, I used the drawing I did of my own granddaughter because, but for the grace of God, she might have been this young girl.  And there lies the other part of this story - her story, a story we may never hear.  I'm not sure if the use of the word "conundrum" would be right for this, but I'd call it the conundrum of being her.

The minute I wrote the comment, above, I knew I had been given an additional impetus for this post.  What makes me, or any of us, think she has been denied the grace of God?  Originally I was simply taken by the young boys that showed such courage and maturity to defend this beautiful young cheerleader, but then I remembered another time, similar yet different, that touched my heart and reminded me of that which I'd forgotten.  Even the "least" of us is beloved of God, and maybe more so.

I've relayed this story before, but it bears repeating, of a Special Olympics weightlifting team that couldn't stop smiling and cheering, even for their opponents, and even if they lost.  I remember having to leave the competition as it struck me how very special these young people were, and how much we can learn from them about sportsmanship and unconditional love of, well... everyone. 

Denied the grace of God?  I wonder if they aren't brought into this world as an instrument of God's grace; the constant reminder, if we dare to see it, of our own failings as children of God?  These angels that slap us every now and then to see if we can see past that which is in front of us and comprehend, not that they are different, but that they are special in a way that, God help us, we may never be.  They show us what we don't want to see, that, for our entire ego, they are better than us.  For those of us that can see, they are also a reminder that God does not make mistakes.

This is just something to consider this Sunday, not that we can count our blessings, but the possibility that these young people are our blessings.  They are a part of who we are, and another gift from god that we have been tasked with discovering.

Are you up to the task?

Editor's Note:  

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion.  It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other.  An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth.  After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human.  God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.
  

Pastor Frank Anthony Villari

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."