Forgive one another's Faults

"Disregarding another person's faults preserves love..." Proverbs 17:9

"You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others." Colossians 3:13

Isn't it funny how we've come so very far in the 21st Century as far as technology and other areas are concerned, but yet, people are still highly criticized for being different? People who are different are the people with faults that the verses above are talking about. What is a fault to one person isn't necessarily a fault to another. What's annoying to one person, is plain and simply fun to another.

There are many books and movies and other types of stories available throughout all different types of media that praise the different. For example:

How to Train Your Dragon: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is the smallest Viking ever. He's not a NATURAL Hero. He has to learn to be a hero The Hard Way. In spite of his faults, he does succeed in becoming the greatest dragon tamer the Vikings have ever seen. And, yes, he becomes a real hero The Hard Way. (If you haven't seen the movie, it's awesome! It doesn't hurt that my beloved Gerry [Gerard Butler] plays Stoick Haddock, Hiccup's dad!)(Samuel and I are also reading the book. While the book is very different from the movie, it does keep the essence of the fact that Hiccup is different and must become a hero The Hard Way. Samuel and I are enjoying the book just as we did the movie. We decided from the very beginning of reading the book that we weren't going to compare it to the movie; we're reading the book as if it's a whole new story of it's own....and we're loving every minute of it!)

One Night with the King: another one of my favorite movies. One of the reasons King Xerxes falls for Esther in this story is because she's different from all the other girls. It's Esther's difference that ultimately lead to her being where she was "for such a time as this." If she hadn't been Jewish--different, with faults, then she never would have been chosen by the king nor would she have saved a whole nation!

Almost every show on the Disney channel....there are so many! Hannah Montana: my favorite character on that show, the 2nd reason why I love the show, is Rico. He is a very short high school senior. He embraces his differences and has a lot of fun. I just LOVE his laugh! Hannah's brother, Jackson, is the 1st reason why I love the show. Jackson is another very short teenager (although in real life, he's over 30!) who embraces the fact that he's different. It's even the fact that he is so very different that has attracted his new girlfriend this season. (For those of you who are upset with Miley Cyrus, I completely agree, but stay focused with me on my point here. Miley's recent behavior is NOT where I'm going with this!)

I could go on and on and on.....but I'll only talk about one more from the Bible: Joseph. Joseph's own brothers hated him so much because Joseph was different that they plotted to kill him! Thankfully, they only sold him into slavery, but still! It was Joseph's faults that his brothers hated him so much for that ultimately lead to Joseph becoming 2nd in command in Egypt! If it hadn't been for Joseph's differences, he would not have been able to save millions of peope, including his own brothers and father, from severe famine! What his brothers meant for evil, God turned into good!

My point is this: even though we're in the 21st Century and many things have changed over the years and even though there are literally HUNDREDS of stories (I'm SURE you can add several of your own to my few examples) that encourage being different, people are still mocked, ridiculed, sneered at, ostracized, outed......and on and on......

What's up with that?!

I know this couple who are very good friends. They thoroughly enjoy one another [especially in the bedroom] even after more than 20 years of marriage. I have heard some other so-called "friends" say very rude things about this special couple because they don't like the fact that this couple has "evidence" of their love on their bodies. (Let's just leave it at that. I'm sure you all have good enough imaginations to take it from there. Besides, that's all you NEED to know.) I, for one, look at this couple and I Praise the Lord that I know 2 people who still want and desire one another after 20 years, especially in a day and age when there are more divorces than marriages. My Bible says that the bedroom is an honorable place in the confines of marriage. Thank God there are couples out there who demonstrate their love for another......

I, myself, as you very know, am very different. I definitely dance to the beat of my own drum. There has never been a time in my life when I have not been teased about something: my glasses, the fact that I'm chubby, I'm short, I'm loud, I tend to be obnoxious, I can get overly excited--especially during movies and parties, and the list goes on and on and on. I have embraced my differences and I don't spend a LOT of time worrying about whether or not someone thinks I'm crazy. Of course, that doesn't mean that I don't get my feelings hurt sometimes--like when I'm having a low self-esteem day.....

My son, Samuel, is fraught with differences. He doesn't learn the same way his classmates learn. He's like me in that he has a tendency to get overly excited about things. He can't sit still. He loves to play even when it's not the right time or place for it. He's gotten chubby during the past year. He is slow; he's not a fast runner. His sports abilities are also very much like his mother's....he loves to play, but ability is not part of the bigger picture. I hear him talk about being teased. I've even heard his own classmates tease him right in front of me.

I understand that much of the time, teasing is harmless and should not be taken seriously or personally. At the same time, let's face it, there's only so much a person can take before said person begins to wonder if he/she is TOO different and, as a result, develops low self-esteem issues. Some people rise above the teasing, like the examples I mentioned above, and fulfill their true destinies--their true Godly purposes in life. Others withdraw and lose all sense of self.

I so very much want to be one of the ones who rises above and fulfills my God-given purposes in life. I'm trying. I want for my son to do the same. I read these stories--watch these movies--with him all the time and we talk about how these very unlikely different people become real Heroes.

The fact remains, though, that more often than not, we aren't forgiven our faults--our differences. We're mocked, teased, ostracized.....made to feel less than.....

One final thought: it's my understanding that it's people who are different who have made the GREATEST differences in the world and the lives of people of the world......