You know what I really hate???

Andy Rooney had a segment on 60 minutes called, "You know what I really hate"? I think he should of called it, "You know what really grinds my gears"? In this segment he would talk about things that really irritated him. I don't want this post to be about my opinion of the recent Clipper drama, but it did stir up some thoughts. Most rooted in sadness and disgust. It had me thinking...you know what I really hate?...disrespect!

 When I think about racism, I am not naive to think that it is something of the past. It does seem archaic of a thought. I would hope we have learned from the past and have... grown up, for lack of better words. But, the sad reality is that it is still around. The comments made by the Clippers owner, were a huge slap of reality, that people are still racist. I think the bigger picture is that there is so much disrespect between us humans. Respect has been a common topic that I write about on my blog. It is so sad to see each generation show less and less of it. If we had more respect for others racism wouldn't exist. If we showed more respect for human life, abortion wouldn't exist. If we showed more respect for ourselves prostitution wouldn't exist.

Many of these issues like: racism, abortion and prostitution may not be issues that you have to deal with, but I am sure you know someone who was bullied or a female who has no respect for herself or other women and dresses to attract the wrong attention. Or maybe that is you. You are bullied or you don't have respect for yourself. Our world is in a sad place right now. I can pick apart what I know of Mr. Sterlings' life. I won't list them here, but I am sure you know the kind of life he leads. This man has issues. What I also wrestled with in my brain is that what is going on in your heart flows through your lips. I am going to guess Mr. Sterling isn't living a life that is focused on pleasing God. But, it did make me think about what flows from my own lips.

Psalms 141:3 states: "Set a guard over my mouth, Lord. Keep watch over the door of my lips". If Mr. Sterling had lived a life that was pleasing to God the recording might not exist or more importantly he would be less likely to have those thoughts. There are things I have said that I would never want to be broadcast on TV or the internet. Have I said hurtful things about others, yes. Anything like Mr. Sterling, no, but hurtful none the less. It is a great reminder that our words are powerful: "Reckless words pierce like a sword. But the tongue of the wise brings healing" Proverbs 12:18. My prayer is that my heart is pure and my words are uplifting. If we can learn anything about this man's foolish words is that we all need to show a little more R-E-S-P-E-C-T.