INCLUSION: A DANGEROUS DISTORTION OF GOSPEL TRUTH As its been a matter of... oh, days I guess, since I last had a self-indulgent moan I thought it was about time. I have been reflecting on how the past few months since September and especially the end of April have taken their toll on me physically and mentally in a way nothing has in years. I dont think I will ever fully get back to how I was feeling before the events of September 11th last year. The lesson I have learned rather too late in life is this: If you think someone is dangerous, follow your instincts - get as much distance from them as possible. If you think someone is a fake, trust that feeling - they probably are. If you think that someone is an incurable liar, dont live in denial - expose their charade to the light. If you think someones friendliness is about power and influence, warn others - dont feed the snake in the grass. If you think someone is using position, reputation or charisma to diminish you, get out from under their spell - autonomy is more important than subservient awe. If you think that someone in any of the above categories should be given the benefit of the doubt, ignore that charitable instinct - self-protection is your no.1 moral duty. All of the above is fed by the lies of inclusion, unconditional commitment and limitless forgiveness in relationships. It is also often fed by being British! The truth though is simple: you cannot help others until you have helped yourself. I have no idea how many times as a teacher I told pupils to trust their instincts about people and walk and indeed run away from anyone about whom they felt uneasy. Yet my own Christian ethos told me to do the exact opposite. Ive paid the price several times in my life and have done so again recently - this recent episode being potentially the most serious of all the situations I have faced (even if not the most emotionally traumatic because I am stronger than I used to be). I have gained NOTHING through this and lost MUCH through my Christian accommodation of nastiness and bullying. And sadly as I have tried to recover from some very, very dark moments recently my preoccupation with all this has made me unavailable for others who needed real support and who deserved to receive it. Yes, heres something I am finally coming to realise. You should only give your support to those who deserve it - I dont mean who have earned it. The most vulnerable are the least able to earn the right to the help they need - but by being people of integrity they can deserve it. So many have been misled concerning what the gospel of Jesus of Nazareth says about all this. No one had more compassion and genuine love than this man. Yet he said: Dont cast your pearls before swine. He also said: And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them. (Nice bit of King James Bible there for you.) And what about: Let the dead bury their own dead. Yet this radical message has been shoe-horned into something akin to an Equalities and Social Inclusion manual for a local authority. This is NOT what got Jesus crucified!
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 07:56:40 +0000
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