Week Twenty, 2019
THE STIGMA
By Senator John Grant, Florida (Retired)
Les Misérables is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world beginning in 1815 and culminating in the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris, the novel follows the lives and interactions of several characters, particularly the struggles of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his experience of redemption. It will not be read by everyone, but it is meant for everyone.
The story begins in 1815 in Digne, as the peasant Jean Valjean, just released from 19 years’ imprisonment in the Bagne of Toulon—five for stealing bread for his starving sister and her family and fourteen more for numerous escape attempts—is turned away by innkeepers because his yellow passport marks him as a former convict. He sleeps on the street, angry and bitter.
Valjean simply could not shake off the stigma of being an ex-con. He had done the crime and served the time, but the stigma lasts forever. He couldn’t get a job because of his status.
Do we have that situation in modern day society or even in the church? I suggest we do. Those who have served their time and attempt to re-enter life on the outside can’t be a dietician, a barber, join the military, easily find a place to live, travel abroad, hold public office, serve on a jury, vote and the list goes on. The stigma is for life, even in the church.
As Christians, we believe in reconciliation. Acts 3:19 says we are to repent and turn to God, so that our sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. But too often we shoot our wounded.
Someone finds some derelict, washes him off and brings him to church, where he dedicates his life to Jesus and we put him on a pedestal and brag about how we reconcile with sinners.
Now, one of our own falls from grace, is charged and convicted before going off to prison to serve his time. When his sentence is completed and he is released, he goes back home, tries to rehabilitate and get back on with life. He goes to his church and is told he is not welcome. What kind of reconciliation is that?
Matthew (6:12) states that for a person to earn God’s forgiveness they must also be willing to forgive others. Those who do not forgive will not be forgiven by God.
How quick we are to judge others, hold a grudge against them and refuse our hand in reconciliation. We all do wrong, it’s just a matter of degree or a matter of getting caught. What Christian can say they are totally free from sin?
Do we want to place a “Valjean” sticker on people for life, even Christian brothers who have turned from their wicked ways and come home to the cross?
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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
A seminary student was playing basketball with some friends at a nearby high school gym. He noticed the school’s custodian sitting on the steps of the building with a Bible open on his lap. He made his way over to the elderly gentleman and asked him what he was reading.
“The Bible,” the man replied. The seminary student grinned and said, “I can see that. What book of the Bible?” The man responded, “The book of Revelation.”
The student was surprised and asked, “The book of Revelation? Do you understand it?” “Of course, I understand it,” the custodian answered. What does it mean?” the seminary student asked. The custodian smiled and said, “It means, we win.”
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According to the Washington Post, 226,000 students have been exposed to gun violence at school since the Columbine shooting. At least 143 children, educators, and others have been killed in assaults, and another 294 have been injured.
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According to the Mayo Clinic, “When someone you care about hurts you, you can hold on to anger, resentment and thoughts of revenge—or embrace forgiveness and move forward.” Mayo reports that refusing to forgive causes us to become depressed, live in the past, bring anger and bitterness into every new relationship, and lose purpose in life.
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Nearly 70 percent of Americans say they’re in the middle, whether their household earns $50,000 or $500,000. There is little consensus on what middle class really means, but everyone certainly wants to be middle class: Nearly 70% of Americans consider themselves middle class, but only about 52% would qualify based on income. The Pew Research Center found that middle-income families–in a three-person household–earned between $45,200 and $135,600 in 2016.
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QUOTES YOU CAN USE
No matter how hard we push the envelope, it will always be stationary.
I stayed awake all night and then it dawned on me.
It’s hard for a new idea to shine through when our old ideas are so staunchly in place, even bright rays of sunshine get blocked out! Dwight Short
Your best efforts will never put you in God’s business.
Encouragement provides us with motivation to persevere. It invites us to dream dreams of significance for our lives. And it begs us to work diligently with optimism and promise.
Overcoming the pull of consumerism is a difficult challenge regardless of our stage in life.
The mind will never accept what the heart has already rejected. —Ken Whitten