This weekend's "guest blogger" is Susan Presley, who's taking some time away from Austin to return home and complete her degree. Her blog, TheyWon'tFindMeHere, is what GetAnchored hopes to be when it grows up. She's sharp-witted and rigorously honest. In the photo, Susan is second from the left at last Fall's study through The Anchor Course. I asked her to visit GetAnchored with some thoughts on Lisa Nowak.
Perhaps you read this week about Navy Captain Lisa Nowak. She was arrested on battery, attempted kidnapping and attempted murder charges. Capt. Nowak, 43, was a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Discovery.
What allegedly happened is that Capt. Nowak drove from Houston, Texas to Orlando, Florida in order to meet with Colleen Shipman, another NASA employee. At issue was that both women were involved in a "relationship" with Navy commander/astronaut Bill Oefelein.
Lisa Nowak was jealous, and jealousy can often trump logic.
On her trip from Houston to Orlando, Nowak wore diapers so she wouldn't have to take the time for restroom breaks. In her bag, police found a wig, BB gun, steel mallet, folding knife with 4-inch blade, 3-4 feet of rubber tubing and large plastic garbage bags. One can imagine that no good was going to come of a person in Nowak's state using these items.
Shipman noticed Nowak (disguised in a wig and trench coat) following her in the airport parking lot. Nowak managed to spray Shipman with pepper spray, and Shipman was able to drive to get help and have authorities summoned.
During this week, we've heard everyone from radio and TV hosts to bloggers, public speakers to work-out buddies making jokes about "astro-nuts" and "Lust in Space." I've seen headlines that say "Houston, she has a problem."
Is this the appropriate tack for Christians to take, to laugh at this situation? Proverbs 6:34 tells us "Jealousy arouses a husband's fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge." Jealousy is not a virtue, to be certain. But it's a common thing that we all -- believers or not -- struggle with to some degree.
Do any of us know precisely when we've passed the breaking point regarding jealousy? Do we know for certain which straw on the camel's back will send us into a Nowak-like course of action? Let's not be arrogant enough to think it can't happen; we're all just mere mortals here, all needy of God's grace.
Nowak likely didn't think she was behaving bizarrely. On reflection, she may have seen how other people might take it that way, but I doubt that she saw her actions as anything but logical under the circumstances. We're each distinctly unqualified to diagnose our own foibles.
A positive reaction to Nowak's situation would be to examine our support networks. We need someone outside ourselves:
• Church
• Family
• Community
• Friends
• God
In turn, we need to make sure we're providing that service to others, as well.
So you there, in your glass condominium: put down your bucket of rocks. Rather, let's hold each other accountable, even when the situations are sensitive, as this one was.
What allegedly happened is that Capt. Nowak drove from Houston, Texas to Orlando, Florida in order to meet with Colleen Shipman, another NASA employee. At issue was that both women were involved in a "relationship" with Navy commander/astronaut Bill Oefelein.
Lisa Nowak was jealous, and jealousy can often trump logic.
On her trip from Houston to Orlando, Nowak wore diapers so she wouldn't have to take the time for restroom breaks. In her bag, police found a wig, BB gun, steel mallet, folding knife with 4-inch blade, 3-4 feet of rubber tubing and large plastic garbage bags. One can imagine that no good was going to come of a person in Nowak's state using these items.
Shipman noticed Nowak (disguised in a wig and trench coat) following her in the airport parking lot. Nowak managed to spray Shipman with pepper spray, and Shipman was able to drive to get help and have authorities summoned.
During this week, we've heard everyone from radio and TV hosts to bloggers, public speakers to work-out buddies making jokes about "astro-nuts" and "Lust in Space." I've seen headlines that say "Houston, she has a problem."
Is this the appropriate tack for Christians to take, to laugh at this situation? Proverbs 6:34 tells us "Jealousy arouses a husband's fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge." Jealousy is not a virtue, to be certain. But it's a common thing that we all -- believers or not -- struggle with to some degree.
Do any of us know precisely when we've passed the breaking point regarding jealousy? Do we know for certain which straw on the camel's back will send us into a Nowak-like course of action? Let's not be arrogant enough to think it can't happen; we're all just mere mortals here, all needy of God's grace.
Nowak likely didn't think she was behaving bizarrely. On reflection, she may have seen how other people might take it that way, but I doubt that she saw her actions as anything but logical under the circumstances. We're each distinctly unqualified to diagnose our own foibles.
A positive reaction to Nowak's situation would be to examine our support networks. We need someone outside ourselves:
• Church
• Family
• Community
• Friends
• God
In turn, we need to make sure we're providing that service to others, as well.
So you there, in your glass condominium: put down your bucket of rocks. Rather, let's hold each other accountable, even when the situations are sensitive, as this one was.
2 comments:
I've had problems with jealousy in the past. I have never wanted to kill anyone in a jealous rage, but I do admit to wanting to kill someone in anger once. I can see how easy it would be to blur the line. She definitely needs help. But then again, don't we all?
We'd all like to think that if we lost our marbles we'd be judged on the basis of our whole person, all the good we have done, but it is surely not the case. We are a society bent on perfection. Oh, we give lip-service to forgiveness and all that rot, but when it comes down it, we are zero-tolerant, punitive, and unforgiving. It wasn't all that long ago when I was in school, and was taught that our country was unique in that we had a restorative justice system. I wonder, was is waning then, and just not as clearly as it has disappeared now? We used to be worried about convicting the innocent, but now, we cast a wide net, more worried that a murderer, or worse, a sexual predator, will go unpunished.
This is a refreshing point of view against a tide of self-righteous outrage from the masses.
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