Vodka and puritans don't mix.
It's a no brainer...but sometimes you find out the hard way who really has your back.
Here goes the story I was privy to learn...
It's vacation time. Alas, the opportunity to leave ordinary life behind for five glorious days of beach bliss has arrived. Nothing...nothing could be more welcoming than getting to wake up when you feel like it and having the sheer luxury of doing absolutely nothing. No time schedules (other than catching the plane and getting the rental car in time), no weekly meetings, no sitting at your desk staring at the monitor. It's going to be a great time with a great group of co-workers...so you think.
Once your feet is firmly planted on beach soil, once your suitcase is unpacked, once you're in your comfy wear; it's time to savor the relaxation and celebrate the first night of vacation with a luscious seafood dinner. Before vacation bliss could fully evolve the horror of reality slaps you in the face that will keep your ears ringing for days...you're debit card is not with you. It would have been fine, and the blood would have returned to your face much quicker had it been that you forgot the card back at the bungalow, but the thing is...it's not there. It's not anywhere within your belongings. Vacation nightmare has struck...you...of all people, it happened to you. All the money you gathered and saved for this fun-in-the-sun get-away hopefully is still safely tucked in your bank account, but now you have no way of waking up the cash to come play with you. Reality bites.
Condolences from friends are all well and good, but unless they have a wad of cash they can hand you; it does no good materially. What to do now? They Eyore syndrome...with the overcast rain cloud...has come to stay. No! You have to shake it. Vacation cannot be so easily ruined this way. Just shake it off. Relax. You've got your credit card with a couple hundred left under the limit. You'll just have to play it safe. Hey, there's the beach if nothing else.
So, to help perk up the mood...and for those lazy days on the beach...a case of Smirnoff Ice sounds oh so soothing. It's not everyday that you can purchase Smirnoff at the local grocery store back at home. This is vacation...you're MILES away from home. It will be a nice treat.
You bought your Smirnoff, put it in the fridge, power up your laptop to check your bank account when your group of buddies come ask to talk to you. Long story short, they tell you to get rid of the Smirnoff--pour it down the sink. Why? you ask. You shouldn't be drinking, they tell you. But I'm on vacation.
The entire group are all of a sudden pitted against you all because of a few bottles of Smirnoff. You tell them your intention is not to get smashed. Heck, you haven't even drank one yet. So rather than one person coming directly to you to talk to you about 'this', the person gathered all the other buddies to discuss your situation amongst themselves first before approaching you. Very nice. It's the kind of behavior one would expect on the playground amongst second graders...but amongst 40+ year olds? To top it all off, the person called your boss and told him 'the situation' before talking to you. What a friend. Now the boss knows and your buddies are insinuating that your job is on the line. (Did I forget to mention that your place of employment speaks against drinking...yet at the same time a family or families within the organization openly owns a liquor store?)
Vacation is quickly turning into hell.
Fine. You call the boss...after you dump all the Smirnoff down the drain. You didn't even get a sip. You feel betrayed and alone amongst your once close-knit group of friends. You might not even have a job when you return home. You regret deeply for even coming. You called the boss. Instead of hearing the reiteration of what your buddies told you, your boss just wanted to make sure you're not drinking to get stupid. Absolutely not; it's just something to enjoy while I'm on the beach. Your boss was totally fine with it. So much for group intervention.
When I heard this story, I was amazed at the group's actions. These are adults. They were quick to point that out (what they believed to be) the sin, make a big deal about it, involve everyone in the group, and leave the person feeling that their job is on the line. What happened to the verse that says love covers a multitude of sins? Rather than the one person who was bothered by the Smirnoff speaking directly and privately to the individual, that person decided to talk to everyone else first. Jesus said in Matthew that if your brother sins against you, go and tell him is fault between you and him alone. But if he will not hear, take one or two more with you.
From what I gathered, the group was more concerned about proving that they were right rather than watch over and protect a friend. Which is more import: to be right or to be kind?
We all have our faults. Nobody is perfect. Why can't Christians cut each other some slack? They are harder on fellow believers than God--the One Who has every right to send us all to hell. Yet...God suffered hell on our behalf so that we might get to experience heaven.
Jesus said that it's not what goes into a man that defiles him, but rather it is what comes out of man.
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