Connie Cootie

When I was in kindergarten, there was a girl whose stop was near mine in what my family called "The Circle." Her name was Connie. I think she was probably in at least fifth grade when I was in kindergarten. Connie had had a case of head lice at some point. I was so traumatized by what the kids on the bus did to her, I still vividly remember it over thirty years later. She would all but run off the bus, ducking her head behind her notebook as kids shouted, "Connie Cootie! Connie Cootie!" It would begin with one kid remembering to torment this poor girl and as soon as the one child was heard many would join in. I guess I didn't join in because I have always had compassion. I was so sad for her. Day after day Connie endured this torment and humiliation.

I knew or was familiar with many of those kids' families. We grew up in a time where a good whoopin' was not frowned upon. I am by no means advocating beating or abusing your child, but the fear of a little discipline goes a long way. Even those mean little kids on the bus had parents who would not have tolerated the kind of behavior I witnessed. Most of them sat in a pew on Sundays and heard the Gospel preached. They knew of Christ's love and compassion. There was no compassion or kindness in their actions.

There has been a story in the news recently about a male college student who had a sexual encounter with a man in his dorm room. The encounter was secretly video taped and then posted on the internet. The college student committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington bridge into the Hudson River.

What humiliation this young man must have felt from his tormentors to take his own life. I am by no means condoning homosexuality. The Bible does say homosexuals will not enter the kingdom of God. However, the full scripture reference reads, "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom Of God." I Corinthians 6:9-10. Hold on! We cannot leave out the following scripture, "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." I Corinthians 6:11.

There is a story in the book of John about a woman caught in the act of adultery. She is drug before a crowd of people and Jesus. The accusers want to stone her. Jesus tells the accusers, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

Some of us "Holier Than Thou" Christians, may not have committed a sin from the list in I Corinthians, but Romans 3:23 says, "for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." We have all had our moments. I have them every day. Keep reading in Romans 3, "(for all) are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Those scriptures aren't telling us only the ones who get caught are sinners. We all are. Neither do those scriptures tell us that only the perfect are redeemed by Christ's blood. It is offered freely to all of humanity.

If you had never heard the Gospel and your first encounter with it was someone pushing their beliefs of how wrong your sin is down your throat would the Gospel be appealing to you? A qoute from Oswald Chambers, "Conviction of sin is one of the rarest things that ever strikes a man. It is the threshold of understanding God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict of sin, and when the Holy Spirit rouses the conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not his relationship with men that bothers him, but his relationship with God." The Holy Spirit was given the job of bringing conviction to the world (John 16:8).

I am not suggesting we run out and buy all the rainbow flags and bumper stickers we can find and display them with pride. It is great to stand up for your beliefs. But when we are trying to be a witness to someone or a group of people, how about we start with a little compassion and an out pouring of God's love through acts of kindness? How about we start with the simple things like, "Jesus loves me. This I know?"