Memphis Needs More Grace

Our Ladies’ Movie Club met for dinner last night and then went to see "The Grace Card". It is a story that is set here in Memphis. As Memphians, we saw familiar places, even familiar faces; ~one inconsistency was the hospital~ what was very real was the attitude of the characters. While it was set in Memphis, I know that it’s also true in many major cities across our country. One of the topics at dinner was discussing Liz Taylor’s death and that there would be protests at her funeral by the “church” that protests also at military funerals. It was noted that while we don’t approve of gay marriage ~or that lifestyle~ militant protesting does nothing to reach out to the individuals that are caught in that lifestyle. Where’s the Grace? Where’s the Love? I admit that I struggle with the balance between “loving the sinner, but hating the sin.” Jesus hung out with sinners; he didn’t engage in or condone their sin, but that’s who he spent most of his time with. What does it look like in a Christian’s life ~in my life and your life~ to offer Grace and Mercy like Jesus? He is the perfect balance of justice and mercy. What does it look like in our lives when we emulate that? To be honest, I don’t know, but what we’ve been doing hasn’t worked. Just look at Memphis.



It’s frustrating to me because I weep for the children that grow up ~and have grown up~ in this reality in Memphis. There’s a real chip on the collective shoulders of Memphians. While it saddens me ~as Charlotte Bergmann states, “For approximately 50 years an entire group of people have become enslaved to the political idea that government knows what is best. That government collects our money to redistribute it to the poor...somewhere along the way that money is placed in the pockets of bureaucrats. Real jobs will allow the people to know where the money is distributed. Let the government stay within the constitutional constraints and restore liberty.” I see the consequences of slavery to victim-hood every day in Memphis. It’s more than a political problem; it has destroyed countless families and lives. The answer is in more than politics, it’s in changing attitudes one life at a time. What am I going to do today to reach out to someone and change an attitude? What are you going to do?

What does it look like to play "The Grace Card"?

"I promise to pray for you everyday; to ask for your forgiveness; grant you the same; and be your friend always."