I abhor prejudice! I detest the unjust treatment of someone based on their gender, color, IQ, age, wealth or lack thereof.
I believe God detests prejudice also. God is no respecter of persons. (Acts 10:34) He makes the rain fall on the just and the unjust. (Matthew 5:45) God’s Son was sent to save the world- not one is left uninvited to be a participant of His salvation. (John 3:16, 17) He has left us with the great commandment- Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:30, 31)
Saying all that leads me to an interesting dilemma we’ve reached in Bethany’s journey.
We are faced with teaching her how to “rightly” discriminate!
[Tweet “There is a #right and a #wrong way to #discriminate. #truth “]
It may not be politically correct to say it, but we need to distinguish- discern- discriminate between good & evil, beneficial & harmful, safe and dangerous. The Pollyanna in me hasn’t wanted to enlighten Bethany about the “people” out there that want to take advantage of her. I so badly want to believe no one would hurt an innocent such as she.
But that is not reality.
All that glitters is not gold.
All people are NOT the same inside.
And face this truth I must. I must prepare her to protect her. I have to teach her how to discriminate.
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Recently, we went to Silver Dollar City in Branson. Our little bird, Bethany, is increasingly spreading her wings and wanting to fly solo. She wants to shop by herself, go exploring by herself- gracious!- she’s even making plans to live by herself!!!!! (She has offered to let us live with her when she moves. lol)
Her personality is so trusting, so loving, so accepting, that she is unaware of predators or strangers which could endanger her.
[Tweet “Protect your #children with #specialneeds by helping them learn to #discriminate.”]
I can’t describe the cold sweat and terror that exploded in me when I realized that she has absolutely no skills to judge a person’s character or intent. She is clueless to discern if someone has ulterior motives or malice toward her.
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Which has led me to the question: How do we teach someone to discriminate correctly- wisely- beneficially???
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Despite the loud mantra that ALL discrimination is wrong- I would argue there is a “right” kind of discrimination!
[Tweet “We are called to #discriminate between #right and #wrong.”]
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I believe some things are right and some things are wrong. There are some people who are good and some people who are evil. It is God, who perfectly defines good and evil- we do not.
[Tweet “It’s #wrong to call good evil or bitter things sweet. #truth”]
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We cannot afford to say all people are good or do good. Some people do good and some people do evil. We are to love all people because they are created in God’s image but we are not to implicitly trust, embrace or accept all behavior.
That is my new juncture in our special needs journey. Enlightening Bethany to discriminate without destroying her innocence. Helping her learn to judge and discern human nature without becoming judgmental or jaded.
[Tweet “We can #judge human behavior without being #judgemental. #right #wrong #truth “]
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There is something pure and sweet about her child-likeness. I wish I had the luxury of letting her stay that way. I wish I could always be around her to protect her. But I won’t always be there. I have to equip her to see- to discriminate- to discern- and yes- even to judge- people and their intent.
It reminds me of Jesus’ words to His followers.
“I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. You must be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”
What a paradox. Maybe Bethany’s journey is really not so different from ours.
On the journey- one step at a time. May the Lord guide us in discernment and fill us to overflowing with His love.
Surprising Treasure:
Isaiah 5:20 New Living Translation (NLT) 20 What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.
You know, as I read this, I am realizing that my journey, while not exactly the same as Bethany’s, has many of the same kinds of challenges. I want to believe in people. Believe their motives are good. I want to trust governments. Believe they are always looking out for my best interests. I want to believe that all churches are committed to truth. Believe that they would never twist the scriptures.
Unfortunately, I am concluding those things are not always the case. Makes my life more difficult. Particularly for a guy like me. My preference is to love and trust and not confront. But it sure seems as if there are a lot of things to confront these days. So many things seem broken.
Lord, help me to confront the broken things, just as you did when you were on earth.
Yes! Exactly! People seem to love to quote the verse when Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery. The first thing he said was- Woman, where are your accusers. Neither do I condemn you. but then everyone seems to conveniently forget the last thing He said to her. GO and SIN NO MORE. He called it what it was- in His mercy and His grace- but His love is stronger than letting us live in a place where it will ultimately destroy us. Sin is destructive.
Wise as serpents and innocent as doves, huh? What a paradox! And isn’t it amazing that those words, uttered so long ago, still ring true today? I wish we lived in a world where you didn’t have to teach your child to be wary, but unfortunately, the wolves have multiplied.
Rest assured that God will arm you with the knowledge you need to teach your little lamb what she needs to know. Bethany couldn’t be in better hands than yours.
Wishing you and your family abundant blessings in the new year and beyond.
Susan
Thank you Susan! You’re right- the wolves have multiplied. It struck me as I was writing about my dilemma with Bethany, that her dilemma is so often my own. May truth and grace guide our lives!
I guess we all experience that cold sweat of panic in concern for our innocent little ones, especially as we reflect on our own history. One blessing is being saturated with God’s Word. On one occasion, when I walked into a potentially dangerous place, red flags went up in my mind as I looked around, and then I distinctly “heard” the word “Flee!” just behind my right ear. God let me know He was watching over me, and I had to immediately leave.
Another experience showed me that just reading the Word, even without memorizing it, gives the Lord enough to work with. As I was weeping in a panic about my husband’s heart disease, I “heard” another word from the Lord, which prompted me to do a word search, since I didn’t recall where I’d heard that word before. I ended up with a three-part sermon for my own heart!
Oh, and I like your title. It reminds me how good words can be distorted by wrong usage to take on a new meaning. Discrimination used to have the meaning of discerning good and right from bad and wrong, but not any more. Thanks so much for sharing your heart with us, Cindy!
It was the word “discriminate” that got me thinking. Bethany’s speech therapist sent home a list of sounds and phenomes we need to help her “discriminate” auditorially so her verbal skills will improve. I was astounded that my first thought was – “discrimination is bad”. The PC mantra has certainly done its job- I actually looked it up in the dictionary to make sure it meant discerning good and right from bad and wrong!
I treasure your friendship so much Edy! As these “inverted” days continue- may we who follow the Truth- discriminate everything through His Spirit and Love.
Hugs- hope you’re staying warm- We didn’t have school yesterday- -20 below wind chill brrrrrr
You couldn’t have summed it up better for me. I feel just the same about Justin. Thanks so much for sharing your insight. Hugs to you sweet sister in Christ.
Hugs to you Angela! Sorry we haven’t connected lately! How are things going with you- and Justin?
Wow Mom- that’s really cool that you’re teaching Bethany that stuff. You’re so amazing!
awww Micah- you kids taught me everything I know! 🙂 I love watching you raise your children up in the way of the Lord! Sooooo precious!