Now that is a good thing, but it pains me. At work the TV was on and the reality show COPS was playing. I used to watch the drama played out and shake my head, thinking how foolish folks are. The drugs, alcohol, poor life decisions...it can be amusing to see how stupid people can be. Then after a time I came to realize that they are lost, blind people in need of a Savior and but by the grace of God go I. So it was not so amusing anymore, but still entertaining at some level.
But now I think I have turned a corner. Today, watching a mother and daughter scream at each other, toss possessions into the yard, hearing that dad is an alcoholic and wants a divorce....well there is no entertainment in that. The pain, hurt, and wounding, some self inflicted, some not, is sad beyond words. I buried my head in my hands and nearly cried.
The girl was pretty and 16 years old. The house was nice, not a ghetto. She should have been planning for the next school social or dreaming about boys with her friends, asking questions to mom like, "how did you know dad was the guy you wanted to marry?" Mom and dad should be clinging to each other like life depended on it and protecting that girl while they prepared her for life on her own. The house should be a home. It should be, when all other places fall short, a safe place. Her parents should be, when all other people fail her, there to support her, guide her and help her through life's hardships. Jesus would be there amongst them, the spirit of God indwelling that family. There should be love.
But we lost so much in that garden moment. Sin is not safe, loving, caring, warm. It cares not for a young girl's dreams or her cries for mom and dad to just love each other like they should.
Sin destroys everything it touches and that day it was destroying a 16 year old girl's life. I think that it is a sign that I am growing in the Lord and likely growing old as well, that I am coming to hate sin and what it brought to this world. I cannot begin to comprehend how God feels about it.
No wonder Jesus wept at the death bed of Lazarus. It was not supposed to be this way. And it will not always be so. I so look forward to that moment in time when there are no more tears, no more pain or sorrow and we are in the presence of God for eternity.
Sin promises a lot of things it does not deliver. It puts on a face of fun and excitement. But the true face of sin was shown in that 16 year old girl on a TV show. How could I have not seen it before? Shame on me, but thanks to God for His patience and grace to allow me to see it now.
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