When Good Things Happen to Bad People
Just got an email from a good friend in India. He and his wife serve the urban poor there.
His wife was out buying groceries and saw one of her very poor neighbors wearing the kind of "message" t-shirt so common here in the states.
The tee read "I'm the bad thing that happens to good people."
Nicely put.
Many American Christians--even some people I know-- will react defensively and point out that Jesus teaches that "no one is good but God alone," blah, blah, blah.
Those well-meaning people are doctrinally correct. But they also probably miss the whole point.
It seems to me that his real meaning is that good things happen to bad people....
If more folks understood that deeply I'm confident there would be a lot fewer defensive reactions among "the blessed" when confronted by the realities of the very poor.
His wife was out buying groceries and saw one of her very poor neighbors wearing the kind of "message" t-shirt so common here in the states.
The tee read "I'm the bad thing that happens to good people."
Nicely put.
Many American Christians--even some people I know-- will react defensively and point out that Jesus teaches that "no one is good but God alone," blah, blah, blah.
Those well-meaning people are doctrinally correct. But they also probably miss the whole point.
It seems to me that his real meaning is that good things happen to bad people....
If more folks understood that deeply I'm confident there would be a lot fewer defensive reactions among "the blessed" when confronted by the realities of the very poor.
posted by Wordcat at 9:54 PM
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