Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The Stranger....A MUST Read For Everyone!

This was sent to my husband by a family member. I found it to be quite interesting and correct.

The Stranger


A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small Texas town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.



As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.



If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped


Talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.



Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)



Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home... Not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular


Basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished.


He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.



I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave.



More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.

His name?.... .. .





We just call him 'TV.'



(Note: This should be required reading for every household in America !)

He has a wife now....We call her 'Computer.'

Family members who read this blog and have chosen this path...again...Please reconsider! I am not your judge and am not without fault in hosting the stranger and his wife in the past, yet I am worried at the things my nephews and nieces are being introduced to by this stranger. My own children and I struggle at times with the strangers' wife so I definitely am not judging. However, it is time to tell the stranger, "No thanks to the vile conversations that he holds, the suggestive remarks and examples he shows, the politics and values that he has perverted" and tell him to leave and maybe even take his wife with him! The muzzle we have on his wife here at this home helps somewhat...but we still spend too much time entertaining her and not the Honored Guest who lives here too! The Honored Guest MUST not become a stranger and He has told us He cannot live in a divided house! Yet His family is bringing in the other stranger and his wife and making them the honored guests.

Please kick the Stranger out and make LOTS of room for our Honored Guest who simply wants to spend time with us and help us make His home our own one day soon.

3 comments:

Just a thought said...

“His sister is called computer.” I will never forget part of a sermon I hear many years ago. How do you control a rattle snake in the front room. Now we have that same serpent in almost every room?
Great thought, something we as a individuals need to ponder.

Mervi

Anonymous said...

Dear Jana,
We all must find, "The Line." Your line may be different from mine; but nonetheless God given. We must never allow ourselves to broaden or move or make "allowances" for our Divinely placed border that guards our soul.

Television has been preached against since its incipent arrival in our world. Thank God that our Holy Ghost led elders saw the grief and angst and vileness that it would spew and wisely said, "NO." We don't want to cross that line.

God help us as we prayerfully walk this thecnologically challenenging highway. Psalm 32:8 "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:I will guide thee with mine eye."

Love you Jana. My prayers are with you.
Rebecca

Lorraine Bertram said...

Sis. McVay,

You recently posted a comment on my blog, and I wanted to be sure you got my response....

Thank you so much for taking the time to give us such a high compliment! (I am going to pass on your kind words to our youth group and my daughter.)
We had a GREAT time at the Winter Retreat! The youth at ILC are SUPER!!!! ...and you are so blessed to have the leadership you have. The Bookers, Barriers, and Pierces....You CAN'T get better than that anywhere!!!!
God bless you and Thank You again!!!!