For the past 9 years our family has been cable/satellite free. Don't get me wrong; it's not that we don't watch TV at all it's just that if we had cable I'm not sure we'd never stop watching. There are a few shows we manage to watch at a friend’s house (Survivor and Glee) or watch on the internet. My attorney husband seems to be drawn to law enforcement type shows like White Collar, In Plain Sight and Burn Notice. A few weeks ago he was sick and while surfing the net found a new show out there; Blue Bloods. He loves Tom Selleck and as he watched he was drawn to the story lines. Intense, familial and thought provoking.
And when he likes a show, I have to at least watch a couple of episodes, if only to get him off my case. One such episode hit a nerve as I ponder the holiday season approaching and contemplate dealing with family and adopted family.
Tom Selleck’s character has his newly divorced daughter and granddaughter living with him. When mom and teenage daughter have a spat, Tom's character gets up from the table and says, “I've got this one.” You would expect him, as the police commissioner and strong willed type, to go off on his granddaughter explaining how she needs to be more respectful of her mother. But, he doesn't. Instead he says, “Life isn't fair. But, you can be.” Wow. It rattled me. So often we feel if others aren't fair to us then certainly it's okay to treat them the same way, right?
No way - Jesus commanded that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. That is the 'life isn't fair but you can be' statement in a nutshell. We don't have to be fair - the world doesn't expect us to be fair. But, what does it say to the world when we are being treated unfairly but offer kindness and love in return?
With Thanksgiving a few days away and Christmas looming in the shadows ponder how the holiday season would look differently in your household if you lived out what Jesus said? You treating others how YOU would like to be treated...NOT, how you currently are being treated.
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