I have always said that my church should be my refuge, my safe haven so to speak. It should be just like a family home. It should be a place to shut out the world of evil and wickedness and be able to rest. However, in many churches that is not the case. I have been in churches in the past where I was attacked and evil spoken of when what was being said wasn't true. I have had times where I was excluded from the "group" and not been invited along to a lunch or a shopping spree or a game night. The older I get, the less these things bother me but when I was younger, it hurt deeply.
I expect to go into the world, at the grocery store or gas station or other place of business and possibly be treated poorly. I should NOT have to endure that in my refuge! Nor should anyone else! No one should get so nervous walking into their home church that they are sick to their stomach or have shaky hands because they are uncertain about how they will be treated. They shouldn't have to worry if they will be excluded or included in conversations or befriended by others. Personally, I think it's a shame that anyone would have to endure that at their place of work or an organization for which they volunteer but how much worse for them to experience that at their safe haven of a church?!
I realize that not all people will click in personality but all should still be kind, friendly, and included. Really! How hard is it to be kind and friendly or at least civil?! Too many people do not know how to have correct relationships with others. They do not know how to be inclusive or to even show interest in another's life and what's happening with them. They only seem to care about self. Self is what is so wrong with this world!
We can do better as church families. Don't start a conversation with someone or ask them a question and then walk away before they can answer as though you really weren't interested but was just being cordial. I want to go on record as saying that I am not personally experiencing anything I have voiced but I have observed it happening to others over the past several months and even couple of years. I try to make a point to speak to the person that I feel was inappropriately treated. I am not perfect at that but it is something I strive for. I think we sometimes are careless with the feelings of others who very well may be at a breaking point and carrying a burden that no one is aware they have or feels like they do not matter. JUST BE KIND! Church should be a refuge!
