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This is going to be a tough column to write without
Bible-beating readers into a coma. I have long believed the Good
Book is better for living than thumping, but you have to know it to
live it. And when scripture gets as mangled as it was in a recent
news story, it is its own best defense.
The fuss began when a parent of a student at a private
Christian school in Sacramento, California, decided to settle rumors
that a kindergarten student’s mother was working as a nude dancer.
A visit to a local strip club’s Web site turned up a photo of the
woman.
Students and parents sign a pledge to live by Biblical
principles taught by the church. The pastor spoke with the mother
and explained that stripping wasn’t covered, so to speak. The
mother claimed she needed the job to pay tuition and spend more time
with her daughter; the pastor
offered to waive tuition
for
the remainder of the year and help her find other employment.
One
might think a former Sunday school teacher would turn to God with
questions of faith; she went instead to that other great arbiter of
right and wrong, television. The story was picked up nationally and
soon became the topic of the day on network morning shows, with
predictable thou-shalt-not-judge undertones.
However the Bible warns us against presuming the final judgment of
salvation, not the condemnation of bad behavior. In short, we may
point out sin but don’t get to decide where people go when they die,
gratifying as that might be. As Jesus asked in a parable, “Why
don't you judge for yourselves what is right?”, explaining that
if we don’t a higher authority will. I am pretty sure He wasn’t
referring to Bill O’Reilly, who interviewed the mother and pastor
for Fox News.
The
mother told one reporter, “I
thought the church was supposed to accept everybody … That’s my
understanding of what God is about. My daughter is the one who goes
to school there, not me, and they’re turning her away.”
God is
indeed about accepting everyone – who repents. “If
your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,”
Jesus says in Luke.
In Matthew, He lays out steps for believers to correct each
other, ending in expulsion of the unrepentant.
The
Sacramento school focuses on shepherding students and families who
are already practicing Christians. The mother knew this when she
signed the faith pledge, yet stuck her daughter in the middle with
her job choice. She says she is reassuring the girl and “praying
that something will change,” which I hope takes place in front
of a mirror.
The
mother claims the high pay from stripping enables her to “teach
(her daughter) the Bible at home,” and says the child has no
idea what she does for a living. I wouldn’t count on that,
especially if she makes a habit of taking her gripes to the press.
As to teaching the Bible I’d again advise more living, less
thumping.
The mother eventually agreed to leave her job while her daughter
completes the school year and will consider employment offers that
followed the news reports. “Just
as I decided to start dancing, I’m now deciding to take this pause
for her benefit,” she said in an interview. “I’m not doing this
because I support the church’s position,” nor has she ruled out a
return to stripping. Rather, it seems, she will continue to do what
she finds expedient.
I
feel for the mother because of, not in spite of, the fact that the
hurt she and her daughter suffered came at her own hand. I can
relate; when you get down to it, many of life’s wounds are
self-inflicted. Fortunately, healing comes when we admit it.
Note: Shortly after this was column was submitted, The
mother flew to Chicago for a
photo shoot with Playboy magazine. Her daughter will be
permitted to complete the last week of school.
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