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Less is more. Unless you're standing next to the one with more. Then less just looks pathetic.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

The plague hits - will a cure ever be found?

I have been receiving numerous reports of an acute disease that seems to be affecting humankind all around the globe. An epidemic is taking the world by surprise, and we are totally unprepared for it.


Stupidity.


No, that is not one of the symptoms. That is the disease. To be exact, the known world is being threatened by the Acute Stupidity Syndrome. (I'm sure you can guess what the acronym is.)


Wow. I really sound like a bitter human being. If you would take my word on it, I'm not. It's just the truth. I'm sure I'm not the only one that have noticed its exponential increase in the past few decades or so. It seems like stupid is the new trend. It is affecting all aspects of human life - from traffic to relationships, from business to life.

Ah. Let's start with the smaller, easier to handle stupidity. The disease manifests itself when certain individuals humor themselves by attempting to operate a vehicle to travel from Point A to Point B. Surely, for a spectator, the sight is quite entertaining. However, it stops being entertaining when stupid becomes a lifestyle.

For those of you that actually interact with me on a semi-regular basis, you would know that I do not drive in the United States. I don't even own a car of my own. Which is totally completely fine with me. I have a feeling that if I actually drive a vehicle, I will somehow lose my sanctification. And whatever little filter I have.

This Acute Stupidity Syndrome (I will attempt to refrain from using the acronym) does not only affect people operating motor vehicles. It also affect people in their interaction with others. Relationships.

Picture this scenario (true story, I kid you not):
Boy meets girl first day of college orientation (note: they are both freshmen)
Boy thinks girl's cute, girl thinks boy is cute.
They started dating.
Then, out of nowhere, during Thanksgiving weekend, boy and girl went and got married.
Are you kidding me?

Another scenario:
Girl meets boy online. Started "dating." I used the appropriate quotation marks due to the fact that these two lived so far apart.
Boy comes to visit girl and proposed.
She said yes (really?).
Got married within a month.
Boy stayed for a month and then left girl, pregnant, never to be seen again.
Seriously?

The most painstakingly heartbreaking scenario of all is when boys (or girls) use "the God card" to either get into a relationship or get out of a relationship. This actually happened to my friend. Boy likes girl, asked her out.
She said yes.
But they decided to take things slowly before officially dating.
After a few months, they were officially in a relationship (Facebook and all).
One month into their relationship, boy comes up to girl and used "the God card" to break up with her: "God told me to break up with you. I don't want to. But I have to."

Really?

To say the least, she was very offended. I was too.

If God told you to break up with her, I think he would have the decency to tell her too. Does that mean she is less "spiritual" than you? If you want to break up with her, man up and do it.

The last stupidity scene that I will share with you today is very offensive to me. The bitter reality of it is that this disease is spreading into our church leaders. I lost a good friend due to this.

My friend, a new pastor, had decided that protecting the image of being a pastor is more important than actually caring for people. This friend used to be a person whose friends can rely to for help, support, encouragement, and even emergency assistance. To my dismay, this friend's approach to people have changed due to the pastoral image that needed to be protected. I understand the fact that pastors need to set up boundaries in order to protect themselves in this world that is full of manipulative people, judgmental people, gossip, and lawsuits. Our friendship dissolved because at times when I really needed help and asked this person for help (physical help, not emotional at all), this person responded with:
"I'm sorry, I don't think that's a good idea."

Hey there, pastor. What would Jesus do?

Due to these circumstances and the fact that there is no longer any interactions, communication, or even hang out times, our friendship no longer exists. I mourn for it. I really do. But any relationship is a two way interaction. Furthermore, I think we have irreconcilable philosophical and theological differences: my view of what it means to be a Christian does not align with my friend's view of what it means to be a pastor.

Sad. But stupid nonetheless.

To end my report, I have to admit that I have, in fact, done some stupid mistakes in my lifetime. Everyone does. I think it's how people come up with the term human error. However, there are some big decisions that you don't want to be stupid about. Like who you marry. Or the people you hurt. Or the people you love.