Margaret Sangster is a social worker for her state. She told her colleagues about seeing a young boy in an urban ghetto who appeared little more than a bit of twisted human flesh. He had been struck by a car several months before and had not received proper medical attention.
Although not part of her caseload, she took the boy to an orthopedist, who performed surgery on his legs. Two years later the boy walked into Sangster’s office without crutches. His recovery was complete. The two embraced. Margaret Sangster said to herself, “If I accomplish nothing else in my life, I have made a real difference with at least this one!”
Retelling the story, Sangster said, “This was all several years ago now. Where do you think that boy is today?” They suggested that he might be a school teacher, a physician, or a social worker. With deep emotion, Margaret Sangster responded, “No, he’s in the penitentiary for one of the foulest crimes a human can commit.” The she said, “I was instrumental in teaching him how to walk again, but there was no one to teach him where to walk.”
When Jesus told the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven”, also said, “I say unto you arise” (Mark 2:5 & 11).
Tags: offense, rise, sin
One day, when Vice President Calvin Coolidge was presiding over the Senate, on Senator angrily told another to go “straight to hell”! The offended Senator complained to Coolidge as presiding officer, and Cal looked up from the book he had been leafing through while listening to the debate. “I’ve been looking through the rule book,” he said. “You don’t have to go.”
Why do we get so offended when someone says something we don’t like? Isn’t it healthy for us humans to disagree with someone else’s opinion? I’ve learned that every time I feel like getting offended, that was a test from God. How will I deal with my emotions? I can be merciful and forgive on the spot, or I can crank up the debate a notch and insult them back. And then I have to live with my decision. I will reap what I sow!
The next time someone tells you where to go, just smile and tell them you don’t have to. You’ll win that round.
Tags: anger, Coolidge, hell, offense