Monday, June 29, 2015

THE PATIENTS HAVE TAKEN OVER THE ASYLUM


Imagine walking to the roof of the apartment building you reside in, on a bright clear day with a light breeze. When you open the door to the roof you see a blue sky. All seems right in the world. Then you notice a young woman standing at the edge of the building looking down.

Your first thought is to make sure she is alright. As you approach she notices you and you see tears in her eyes. You realize she is distraught and about to end her life.

You could just turn your back on her, thinking to yourself, it should be her right, it's none of my business, if she wants to kill herself. But then you realize she must not be thinking clearly. So, you try to help draw her away from the edge of the roof.

Then you hear faint shouts from below. As you focus you realize people are telling her to jump.

She jumps to her death ending her life.

You hurry down to the street to confront these people. They say it is her right to do what she wants with her life.  You are amazed that anyone could think this!

You try to reason with them. You share that instead of letting people hurt themselves, even if they think that they will feel better, the loving, courageous option would be to help them see reality and live a better life. It is better to be a support and help them out of their misguided thinking than to just turn your backs on them.

PART II
Some time later, sitting at home, you see in the news that the Law of the land now says people who wish to jump off a roof are allowed to do so. Unbelievable! The Law goes further than to give people the right to jump off any building they choose. The Law states that all buildings need to allow access for people desiring to jump off. Regardless of how you feel, people must be allowed access to each building or you will be fined, imprisoned and labeled a bigot.

You sit in your cozy living room thinking this new Law is awful, but then you realize it doesn't really affect you personally. You do not own any buildings. So the Law can not force you to allow people to jump off your roof.  An odd thought comes to mind... you should look up more often when walking down the street.

Think of this scenario in light of the most recent decision of The Supreme Court on Same Sex Marriage.

There are people in this world that care so much for others, even total strangers, that they would rather attempt to help them then allow them to hurt themselves. I pray everyday for God's Grace to be one of these people.