Stupid pills

When Ma broke her arm, the doctor gave her a prescription for Vicodin. She called them her "Stupid pills". She would only take them before she went to bed because, she said, they made her feel stupid. They relieved her pain, but she wasn't able to think clearly. I'm convinced that some people take stupid pills every day! What else could explain what they do or say?
Catie called me the other night, crying. Ben's aunt read a comment Catie had made on her Facebook page. She responded with an especially cruel comment. No one invited her into the conversation, she just butted in. Her comment about Ben's mother wanting to be a grandmother "someday" cut Catie to her core. It was 4 months to the day since she had miscarried. To my understanding, this woman had never acknowledged Catie and Ben's loss, or offered any sympathy or prayers. When Catie and Chris responded to her unsolicited attack by trading barbs back and forth, she called them dueling idiots. Yet, she calls herself a "good Christian woman". Hmmm....

What is a "good Christian"? From all of my years in church, including the years I taught Sunday School, Bible School, and Children's Choir and the years I went to "Circle meetings", I've learned that there's no such thing. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). Paul makes no distinction between those who believe in Christ and those who don't. None of us is worthy of forgiveness. If we confess with our mouths that Christ is our redemer, and take his words to heart, it is possible to live a "Christlike" life. Most of us do this when it's convenient, but not on a daily basis. We let a word slip, make an ugly comment, take the incorrect change at the checkout, fudge on our resume, let out temper get the best of us, suffer from road rage. Every one of us has done something that was not Christlike. I can have a potty mouth and a frightening temper. Praise God I can go to Jesus and confess my sins and my weaknesses. No matter how many times I make the same mistake, Jesus forgives me. He never says "Don't you get it yet??". He always says "Go, sin no more".
I think two of the first truths children learn at church are 1. Jesus loves me, and 2. Treat others the way you want them to treat you (The Golden Rule). Lots of companies are incorporating the Golden Rule into their behavior policies (without giving credit to Jesus, of course). This gets down o the crux of the "Facebook issue". Would you want someone to butt in on your conversation without being invited? I wouldn't. Would you butt in on a conversation without being invited? Probably not. Would you call someone that you don't know from Adam's house cat an idiot? Don't think so. Would you show a little compassion to someone who has suffered a loss greater than any of us could imagine? I hope so.
The problem with most who proclaim themselves "good Christians" is that they act no better than those of us who are just Christians. You know, the ones who believe Christ died for each of us. The ones who don't just talk the talk (very loudly!), we walk the walk.
'Nuff said!