Comforting the Comfortless

I have tried to comfort and minister to a lesbian who showed up on my “Playground Player” chess site (http://www.chessgames.com) and claimed that she and her girlfriend were kicked out of a church when they asked for help in learning how to “pray christian.” I believed her then; I’m not so sure now. Anyway, I tried to comfort her, telling her that God wants to hear her prayers and the church was wrong in what it did. I tried to encourage her to look elsewhere.

But I could not give her the one thing she wanted–for me to “affirm” and “celebrate” what she is doing in her life. I tried to have a dialogue with her, but the only thing she wanted to hear was “Wow! You are so right, and I agree with you 100 per cent!”

Because I could not give her that, she turned to name-calling and false accusations, trying to paint me out as a drug addict “not fit for society.” Feel the love, baby. Oh–and the Las Vegas shooter did it because he’s a “christian” and “all christians are hypocrites.”

All right. Jesus warned us that we would be hated and falsely accused for His sake. But it’s not much fun.

I forgive this person the hateful and false accusations she threw at me, and now I have to decide whether to ban her from my page. Not much point having her there, if that’s all she’s going to do.

What I really don’t understand is why she desires my approval and is so enraged when she doesn’t get it. Why should she care? This is 2017, and she has the approval of the whole world’s power class, and multitudes more besides. Why should she feel the need for mine?

I can’t help thinking that she would still be unhappy, still be angry, as long as there was anyone, anywhere, who didn’t submit to her personal and political agenda.

It’s too bad. I can only pray: “Lord, give me an understanding heart, whether I really want it or not: because that is righteous, and you are righteous… and I am yours. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”