Part II, The Edge
It is that odd feeling I get when the media is running things past my head that do not make any sense. Quiet time. Prayer. Sort things out. Read the Bible. Things get clearer.
Imus has thirty-eight years of being paid to have a nasty tongue. He has reportedly gone over-board with comments many times and apologized. This time he hit a nerve cord when commenting about women basketball players. Wonder if he knows that from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34)?
Note that this writing is Part II THE EDGE. Part I was a previous Pastor’s Heart that dealt with people who want to live on the EDGE. The devil loves the EDGE. Walking on the Edge does not have much room for error until one is OFF THE EDGE.
What is disgusting is that the white knights are running away. Corporations who have sponsored Imus’ nasty and irreverent humor have pulled the plug on advertising. TV and radio sponsors have fired him.
As to Imus there is no question that what he said was below the belt. Tasteless is not the appropriate word. Ugly? Awful? Insulting? Whatever it was, it was just more of his lifestyle.
What is disturbing is that it took thirty-eight years for sponsors to pull some $15,000,000 (that’s fifteen million dollars) of annual sponsorship. In the hill country where I came from we had a saying: “The chickens come home to roost.” The white knight sponsors may be guiltier than Imus, if that is possible. Without sponsor money who would have heard of Imus? Where is the shame of corporations wasting millions of dollars sponsoring filthy talk and pushing up prices on cars and home products with the cost of advertising?
The media has tried to do a number on our minds. We need to get off the train of brain robbery.
Try this one. The Duke University ballplayers were charged with a crime. The prosecutor ostensibly did not follow proper procedure. The state attorney general has dropped all charges and apologized to the players. The media rushed in to insist that the attorney general gave back to the ballplayers their lives and their REPUTATIONS. I thought reputation was something earned, not given by an act of law.
Hold on. Was there, or was there not, a party with drinking and at least one teenage girl doing exotic/erotic dancing? Are we talking about a Sunday school class or a social event that is out of character for a university founded on Christian principles? OK, leave off the Christian principles. Do parents send their children away to get an education and have them engage in beer bashes and lewd parties? Is this how we build what we call “reputation”?
It seems to me that while criminal charges have been dropped, the Duke ballplayers have some shame to their credit. Their parents should go home quietly and hope that people will forget. Future wives of the three young men will not be proud to look at their husbands while remembering their minds are filled with images of young female bodies paid to arouse lust.
Yes, the reputations of those innocent of the alleged crime have been damaged. But getting back a reputation is not the act of an attorney general. Reputation is the consequence of a right heart, disciplined thinking, and right actions over an extended period of time. It cannot be bought, leased, borrowed, nor rented. It is not an act of law.
Yes, God forgives. However, repentance comes before forgiveness. The media would suggest there are no consequences. Sin tonight; tomorrow wake up sober, and act as if nothing ever happened. This is inconsistent with reality. It is a lie in the face of God and man.
If a bank failed last week and you lost all your savings would you invest with the same bank again this week? I do not think so. If your accountant left one digit off and made your number $10,000, instead of $100,000, would that matter to you? I think so.
Reputation comes slowly with lots of effort and sacrifice. Integrity. It would be nice if people on the EDGE would think about the risk of losing reputation. It would be great if people on the Edge would move closer to Jesus and anchor their lives in godly living.
We awaken the day to the tragedy of the Virginia Tech massacre. Laila and I are both alumni of VT. We have parishioners who are students and graduates of VT. We are horrified, along with a whole nation. In the end we will discover that one or more culprits played the EDGE and went over…destroying many lives and damaging countless others.
The Edge frightens me. I hope you are moving as close as you can get to Jesus and those who love Jesus.
Pastor Bare