Inspirational Fables

I didn't mean to blog so much today, but here I go again.

On Facebook, I get a lot of updates on people's statuses, pictures, and notes. Being at Baylor, I have a lot of Christian friends on my Facebook. These two things compound to give me inspirational Christian fables coming at me with some bit of regularity. There's nothing I hate more than this. Take this example:

The Fern and the Bamboo.....

One day I decided to quit.... I quit my job, my relationship, my
spirituality.. I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have
one last talk with God.

"God", I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"

His answer surprised me...

"Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"

"Yes", I replied.

"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from
the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from
the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.

In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again,
nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo".

He said. "In the third year, there was still nothing from the bamboo
seed. But I would not quit.

In the fourth year, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed.
But I would not quit.

He said. "Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth.
Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant.

But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had
spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave
it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a
challenge it could not handle."

He said to me. "Did you know, my child, that all this time you have
been struggling, you have actually been growing roots. I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you. Don't compare yourself to
others."

He said. "The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern, yet, they
both make the forest beautiful."

So, why do I hate these things so much? They're just harmless little fables that give the readers inspiration. What's wrong with that?

This is what is wrong. They don't just give the reader a certain outlook on life, but it also gives them a certain outlook on life. God doesn't create any challenge that one cannot overcome. That can only be the outlook of a citizen of an industrialized country. In this developed country, the only thing one has to worry about is heart-breaking boyfriends, whether you can go to college or not, and the occasional terrorist attack. Now, this may seem fairly distressing to some, but put it in perspective.

Go to somewhere in Africa, preferably somewhere war-torn. I'm sure it's not that hard to find a place similar to the one I've described. Now, imagine you're a 12 year-old child, your parents dead from AIDS, and you're left as the sole provider for your two younger siblings. How do you provide? How do you avoid being killed by war? How do you keep your siblings from being abducted to serve as child soldiers? Can you? Not very often.

How about the child born with AIDS? With a ticking clock of the years, months, and days they can live?

These both seem to be challenges they can't handle.

What about citizens in Burma, Kenya, or China? Killed by their own governments? Are those not challenges that cannot be handled?

Please, if you come upon one of these stories, just ignore it. They are only for someone with a relatively good life with little sympathy for those who are dying everyday, senselessly.