Where's the Pickup Tonight?
Mildred, the church gossip, and self-appointed monitor of the church's morals, kept sticking her nose into other people's business. Several members did not approve of her extra curricular activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence.
She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon.
She emphatically told George (and several others) that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing.
George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just turned and walked away. He didn't explain, defend, or deny... he said nothing.
Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred's house... walked home... and left it there all night.
You gotta love George
(e-mail from my friend Steve Gerich)
She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon.
She emphatically told George (and several others) that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing.
George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just turned and walked away. He didn't explain, defend, or deny... he said nothing.
Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred's house... walked home... and left it there all night.
You gotta love George
(e-mail from my friend Steve Gerich)
Now that is funny.
ReplyDeleteSo sad that no one did anything to stop here before that.
Yes Cora,
ReplyDeleteSeveral members did not approve...but feared her enough to maintain their silence.
Thank God for Georges.
I understand what George did and maybe would have done the same myself, but I do think we should keep from even the appearance of evil. Two wrongs don't equal a right. He has not only involved himself but also another Christian (even though she may have deserved it). We are always talking about actions speaking louder than words. What do you think the rest of the neighborhood thought of the two Christians acting like this. I wonder if we would feel the same if the truck had been parked outside of our own house.
ReplyDeleteOnly the Mildreds assumed evil when seeing George's truck at the bar. Only the Mildreds assumed evil when seeing George's truck at Mildred's home all night. (I thought he had engine trouble and was going to offer my help the next morning. My wife thought George was carrying in a meal to the owner of the bar who had just had surgery.)
ReplyDeleteThat still does not address the problem. How do you stop a Mildred? The only way the Mildreds survive in this world is by silence and inaction.
There was a reason George parked his car in front on Mildred's house. What was his intentions? He knew what people would think and even better he knew what Mildred would think people were thinking. I think there is a way to deal with Mildreds, I just don't believe this is the proper way.
ReplyDeleteOK Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteWhat is the proper way to deal with Mildred?
Keeping their silence allowed Mildred to continue to hurt people. Obviously pretending a problem did not exist did not stop Mildred.
ReplyDeleteYou gotta love George!
I think there is more involved then people just keeping their silence. I have met a lot of Mildreds in my life and they will always continue as long as there is someone there to listen to them. The Christians that sat there and listened to her gossip and murmur are just as guilty.
ReplyDeleteI refuse to listen to these people anymore I just walk away. It did not take long before the Mildreds quit gossiping around me. They did continue to gossip but it was with the people that would listen. I do not listen to dirty jokes I do not listen to people swearing. I am amazed at the poeple that used to do this in front of me will not do it anymore. I have even had someone stop another person that was telling me a joke and said he will not listen to the end of that joke.
I just believe if we continue down the road that George set us on then next time we will steal Mildereds car and park it at the adult book store or in front of the bar. The next thing after that maybe it would be funny get Mildred subcriptions to every dirty magazine we could think of. If that don't work we could always stone her to death.
I believe you have to look down the path that you start to see where it may take you.
Mildred would not be allowed to get away with the gossip and be feared by the ladies of the Church unless she had the blessing and backing of the Pastor or Board.
ReplyDeleteIf they knew about it and remained silent then they were guilty also.
She had to be married or be related to someone with position and power in the Chruch to cause that much fear.
If she was just a person in the back of the Chruch her talk would be ignored by those who deemed her a problem.
The bigger problem is if any one of the ladies had spoken out against Mildred the controlling members of the Chruch would have tagged that person as the troublemaker and no action would have been taken against Mildred.
George's method may have been seen by some as Unchristian, but it probably was effective. Maybe he kept a lot of others from be hurt by Mildred.
OK all you pastors. How do we handle Mildred?
I believe God has a sense of humor, that's why we have one. George had the right idea, but he should have waited till Mildred went to sleep, then put her car in neutral, hooked it up to a tow bar and left it in front of the same bar! Sometimes it takes an eye opener to close the mouth.
ReplyDelete