"Nancy" Grace Affair

To give a synopsis on my morning today, I take a look at Facebook, and I stumble across a source posted by one of my more politically-driven friends. For confidentiality, we will call her Nancy (yes, as in Nancy Reagan). After posting an article for her viewers to read, one of her followers begins to personally attack her politically and personally. We shall call this person Doyle. Doyle gets a response from Yours Truly, telling him that he is a bully and how my wife and I feel sorry for him. His response was that I needed to “grow some thicker skin.”

Now, to digress for a second, you may realize that my last post was about being conflicted about seeking justice or finding refuge, and a little bit of bullying thrown into the pot. “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just,” Thomas Jefferson stated in his 1781 Notes on the State of Virginia. Time Magazine put it this way: “Jefferson was aware of the dichotomy between his idealistic words and the brutalities of slavery.” This is a true correspondence to my inner thoughts on when to defend someone, or what battles I choose to engage in. However, today I did not even think twice! Now, that is not to say that Nancy needed defending (which she didn’t), but I fully intended to extinguish any doubt in her mind who would stand with her and who wouldn’t.

Now, back to the skin thing, I could easily have exploded on this guy and used the following verse from Matthew 10:28, “And fear not them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul.” But instead, I ‘liked’ his post saying that I was an idiot and exited the conversation. Also, I hope the reader will believe me when I say that I did exit in an attempt to be a catalyst for Nancy to re-enter the debate (if you can even call it that at this point). Suffice to say, Nancy got back on, thanked me and my wife and continued to question Doyle’s motives. Conclusion: I am more concerned about the status of my soul than the “thickness of my skin.” I also could have used a tactic I heard Neal Boortz use once on a caller who wanted to voice her opinion about President Obama. He asked her these questions:

Name your two U.S. State Senators. (Don’t Know)

Name the 3 Branches of Federal Government. (Don’t Know)

Name your State Governor. (Don’t Know) GOODBYE!!

…I could have asked him 3 questions myself to see if I should even waste my breath on this guy, which would have been:

Have you put your money where your mouth is and joined a branch of the military? (According to his Facebook page, that would be a no.)

Are you married? (According to his status on Facebook, that would be a no.)

Do you have a job? (According to the lack of information on his Facebook page again, that could POSSIBLY be a no.)…That would be grounds for, “Doyle, don’t even open your pie-hole. Get back to me when you accomplish 2 out of the 3 at a minimum.”

…But, I chose not to engage in this battle any further.

Now, getting back to the topic of Nancy… I have always worried about her being as heavily involved in politics as she is. She has all the good intentions, but there is a ‘disease’ in that cesspool called Local, State, and Federal Government. Yet, as of late I stumbled across something that challenged my thinking. “Perhaps the most dangerous place for a Christian to be is in safety and comfort,” Shane Claiborne says in his book, The Irresistible Revolution. Wow, maybe my well-intentioned concern is not as well-founded as I have convinced myself over and over again to be. Matthew 5:46-47 states, “For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so?” Just to clarify: during Bible history, publicans were freelance tax collectors who operated in their own districts amongst locals. Nancy continuously steps into the lion’s den with dignity, courage and an open mind. Pretty powerful tools for such a ruthless profession! John 15:18 says, “If the world hates you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you.” Also, John 16:33 says, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world.”

To close on a lighter note, I will use one of my favorite quotes of all time. Linus Van Pelt once said, “There are three things that I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin.” Have a great week, friends and fellow bloggers!