The Lowly and The Proud

Hi.

I hope you are well.

This blog is becoming a bit of a challenge.  To me, at least.  Reading my ramblings has long been a problem for others, no doubt. 

Seems I've come to a fork in the road.  I can either continue to entertain and relieve myself through my writing and share it with a few choice, loyal friends or I can ramble less, watch my language and omit certain personal identifiers ... and thereby possibly reach more people.

We'll see.

One dear friend (who has written more blogs and books than anyone can recall) thought it would be great if more people would make comments here.  Sorry.  I didn't care about comments then and I don't now.  I mean, it's OK if you wanna comment.  But don't do it for me.

One thing is certain.  Life is getting harder.  Not worse, just harder.  I have withdrawn more.  Work is tough.  Money is tight.  One of my daughters told me a couple of months ago I'd never see her or my cherished granddaughter again and she means it.  That hurts.  Can't afford to date and don't see any viable ladies who would enjoy a day of fun and paucity with a pudgy pundit.

But life goes on.  And we must as well.

As I find safe people, I will reconnect.  When people prove themselves to be untrustworthy, I will withdraw.  You should too.

At the very least (he said after 1,000 words) my blogs will be shorter and perhaps more frequent.  At least that's the plan.

Thanks.

***

People of TGLE

I work for the galaxy's largest employer (TGLE); which, for the sake of anonymity, will go unnamed.  (Clever, huh?)

The Internet pokes fun at folks who shop there.  And I laugh.

Shoppers treat workers at TGLE as inferior beings.  And I resent it.

Pride is based upon comparison.  If people feel superior to others -- after comparing themselves to them -- the seed of pride comes to life.  Over time, pride grows roots and blossoms into ugly, infectious weeds.

God is opposed to the proud.

**

Allow me to tell you of a few of my co-workers at TGLE.

One kind lady works a cash register.  She seems distracted at times.  She makes errors and doesn't go fast enough to please people in a hurry.  Her husband recently abandoned her and her two kids.  Wanna know how much she makes?  Or what her options are?  Nope.  All people wanna do is glare at her and treat her rudely because they had to wait an extra [insert meager number here] of seconds or minutes before they go back to a world totally different than hers.

One guy works in the tire department.  What kind of loser has a job like that, right?  Can't even work as a grease monkey changing fan belts, right?  Why speak to a person like that with respect, when "we" are obviously superior.  Except he has two degrees and is about to become a high school teacher.  In his spare time, he *does* repair cars -- at a price others at TGLE can afford.  He also does body work.  And electrical work.  And is a craftsman with wood.  And he is humble.  And I admire him.  A lot.

One lady who runs a cash register is studying to be a doctor.  She's WAY too smart for that, imho.  Brilliant, really.  She could do anything, but she only wants to be a doctor.  Oughta be easy for her.  Even if there's a long line of impatient people waiting to go through her line.

**

One old friend was married to a nurse. 

If she worked a night shift on a holiday that also happened to fall on a Sunday, she made more per hour than Bill Gates does in a day.  (Almost.)

They divorced.  He wound up working overnights at TGLE. 

One night he was hungry.  Stole a candy bar.  Got busted.  Lost his job.  Went to [insert the correct term for the jail/prison/penitentiary here] because he could no longer pay his rich wife the child support he could not earn that she didn't need. 

Met him at church before/after this debacle.  Yeah, he was a Christian.  A real one, imho.  My daughter and I went to visit him in [jail?].  He was a good man. 

Now, he's a good man with a record.  The kind of person you probably aren't.  The kind of person you probably think you will never be. 

Fools believe they will never arrive at such a destination. 
Impossible, right?

Tell you what.  Find someone who has a prison ministry.  Ask him/her about the soccer moms who were on their cell phones when they ran a red light and took somebody out ... and ended up in prison.

Or the rambunctious teens who thought it was funny to spray graffiti on a statue ... and learned they committed a felony ... and they face prison ... where their bodies and souls will be abused.  For years.

Sorry, but I can't tell you of the sweet lady I worked with for many years who decided it was worth the risk to steal money from our employer.  And went to prison.

But, I digress.

**

TGLE hires those who need work and who are willing to work to earn a paycheck.  Some of us are handicapped in various ways that make us less valuable to other employers.  We know that.

One TGLE lady I know was hired a couple of years ago even though she seemed terrified of everyone and everything around her.  Saw her last week.  She smiled and said hello.  I thought that was cool.  Huge step.  But her shyness is trampled upon by proud people who wonder if she's just stupid.  She isn't.  They are.

I won't tell you about TGLE women whose husbands are in jail for doing stupid stuff.  Wrong stuff.  Even bad stuff.  The ladies work to feed the kids.  How happy would YOU be to take their place?

When I arrived at TGLE three years ago, one of the guys said, "I wonder what happened to him?"  How about: "divorce, lost a job and a career, and my income dropped by 90% in a year."

We don't need anyone's pity. 
We don't crave approval. 
We're just trying to make the best of hard lives.

That's all.

Do us a favor, OK?
Don't make it worse.

Especially when you come in from church on a Sunday afternoon and speak to us as if we were godless heathens who'd rather work than worship God, as you have.

Some of us have to work. 
So you can shop.

sheeeeesh


Hope you can't tell I'm bitter.

***

Tell you what.  The next time you strut around TGLE looking down upon the lowly ask yourself how YOU would do ... if your perfect little world crashed ... and you ended up there.

Then, ask God to not let it befall you. 
As it could.
As it does to others who are just as good as you, believe it or not.

And smile upon the lowly. 
And say a kind word. 
And abandon your appalling pride before you leave our world to reenter yours.

Please.

But if you can't, it's OK.

It is better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly,
than to divide the spoil with the proud.

***

Yeah, I know.  I'm bitter.

But at least this blog is short and I didn't cuss.

:-)


Robt