Thursday; December 28

A review of 2017 will conjure up some interesting topics – one of which is the age of accountability for sexual misconduct.  Not all the issues that surfaced this year occurred within the past twelve months, but it seems like when the dam burst, years (even decades) of improprieties came rolling out. 
The fallout from sexual harassment and bad behavior has found its way into the social limelight, the political arena as well as the judicial system, but one place that it must be addressed is in religious circles.  No, not all allegations had a connection to churches or religious institutions but each one of them presents an issue with a person’s spiritual make-up.  When one person blatantly makes another person feel uncomfortable, something is amiss.  First of all, it is a violation of the Golden Rule, but often it is also accompanied by some type of action that is either unwanted or immoral.  Interestingly, this might not even involve physical contact – many times it is the words that hurt.  The New Testament deals with this issue by noting, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”. (Philippians 4:29)  How many of the issues that have recently come to light could have been avoided by sticking to “wholesome” topics?  How many uncomfortable moments could have been tempered by at least one person thinking “Is what I am about to say going to help people feel better about themselves?”.
          Many of us wish we could go back and change the conversations we have had in the past, but we can’t.  What we can do is apologize to those we have overtly offended in the past and work towards a better future by controlling our conversations from here on out. 
          Think About It!

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