So I woke up this morning and checked my email. As I got to Yahoo! News, I saw an article about Bobby Petrino. Bobby Petrino, head coach at Arkansas, was in an accident with his mistress who is also an employee. I then go on to check Facebook and see that the social networking site is aglow with criticism for the former Atlanta Falcons head coach. Many comments showed little compassion about this horrible situation or the feelings and emotions of the families involved.
Many people talked about how Arthur Blank must be happy. When I began to comment about the heartache that the family must feel, I became the target. Have I ever committed such a sin? No. But from the way that people responded to my comments, you would have thought that I had been involved with Bobby Petrino. So, why did I take up for him?
My comments come from a biblical place. Some of God's greatest servants had indiscretions. David, not only had an indiscretion, but then had the husband murdered so he could take his mistress as a wife. God continued to use David in a might way. Yes, David had consequences to his actions. No, it was not right for David to sleep with a married woman. But, Solomon was the result. And Solomon was a great and strong man.
So, I look at these people who are chastising those that do wrong. Could God make something great come out of this wrong? I think so. Why focus on pointing out and making light of the mistakes of others. Isn't that passing judgement? Doesn't the Bible tell us that how we judge others will be the same way that God will judge us? So, why do we waste time pointing out the faults of others? Why can't we focus on finding the good that comes out of bad situations?
I hope that one day, our world will show more compassion than it does today. I am a sinful person. I am so glad that Christ died for my sins and the sins of others. I don't have to worry about the sins of Bobby Petrino. I can spend my time in prayer for his family. I can pray for guidance for his wife and the difficult decisions that lay ahead. I can pray that the children will find a way to love and trust their father in spite of his mistakes. I hope that more people in our world will try and act in a compassionate way. What GOOD could we accomplish if we focused on the future in a loving and compassionate way instead of sitting in a seat of judgement?
