7:1-5KJV WASRe: To Tom, with Love

[Guest guest]

Dear Tom,

I am sorry that you have had such disappointing experiences. I, too,

have had some disappointing experiences...but on the other side,

conservative rather than liberal (although there have been those,

too). Unlike you, however, I do not choose to generalize based on

these experiences. Yes, there are pedophile priests out there...but I

do not condemn the entire Catholic Church. Yes, there are Baptist

ministers who molest the children in their congregations...but I

continue to choose to look for the positive in those who search for

God in the Baptist faith. Yes, there are those who abuse their power

who label themselves conservative as well as liberal. The point is,

they are human, with human failings. As are we. I have to check often

for the logs in my eyes, before complaining about the motes in

others. It is a lot of work to operate on an individual basis, but we

must ask ourselves: what would Jesus do? Would he condemn an entire

group based on disappointments? Or would he choose to have dinner

with the tax collector?

Or the whore? Or the leper? Or any of those that society deemed lower

than low?

Now, as far as the following statement goes:

> Adults who are " free thinkers " seem to be like children -whose eyes

> are bigger than their stomachs when they see good food. In other

> words, many adults simply have no self-control.

This seems to apply more to the rampant consumerism of the entire USA

than simply any one group. No one seems willing to spend their money

responsibly, or question what their money supports. Look around you,

are we healthy? Financially or physically? How much debt does the

average household carry? Are we addicted to credit? Big houses and

big cars? Are our children healthy? What are we up to, about 60%

overweight/obese

(http://www.obesity.org/subs/fastfacts/obesity_youth.shtml)? And now

we have what used to be considered 'adult' diabetes occuring in

children? I know you weren't meaning food literally, but I believe

that the health of a country should be judged by the health of its

children. We teach our children that it is okay to be addicted to

shopping from an early age, that it doesn't matter what you eat as

long as you saw it in a tv commercial. Now I'm getting off track,

when all I wanted to say was this: I think that focusing on sex is

missing the point. It's a symptom, not the disease itself. Our

extroverted ideal has led us as a culture to constantly seek outside

ourselves; unfortunately, this translates into the quick rush of

acquisition. Whether it be sex or shopping, it's always something

outside, always something that keeps us from confronting ourselves.

You speak of liberalism and freedom? I do not label myself liberal or

conservative, but do believe in individual freedom, as well as

individual responsibility. To myself, to my family, to my neighbors,

and to my community. Very few people in the USA, liberal or

conservative seem to share this idea of responsibility. I wish you

would focus on this lack of individual responsibility, rather than

condemning one group or another. I also hope you will take this in

the spirit that it is given because I thought long and hard before

deciding to post. I consider you a brother in spirit and do not mean

to anger, only to provide another point of view.

Truly,

Jill