Last week I was on vacation with family. One night we decided to play a game called “Scruples”. The game includes cards with moral dilemmas on issues of work, money, friends, family, neighbors, and relationships. When you play the game there are no “right” or “wrong” answers, rather the person asked must answer “yes”, “no” or “depends”. The winner is the player who is most successful in guessing how the other players will answer their questions.
It is all in fun, but to some degree, it is a reality check of how others perceive you. Typically those who know you best can tell whether or not you are telling the truth based on how you live your life and typically respond to situations.
One of the first questions posed to me was ”A friend of yours wants you to join his lodge and he sponsors you for membership. Once inducted, you realize that no minorities are allowed membership. Would you quit?” And then my sister-in-law added, “If you don’t answer this one the way I think you will, you’ve got some explaining to do on Facebook!”
I was pleased that it was so clear to her that I would never belong to a club that did not allow minorities. I must admit, afterward, I realized that rather than saying that I would quit the club, a better answer might have been that I might choose to fight for inclusion of minorities rather than just quit.
This is sort of like the way that I feel about the United Methodist Church. We have a lot of work to do when it comes to full inclusion of people who are not in the dominant culture. The list of “isms” that haven’t been properly addressed is significant. While some people’s acceptance in the church is blatantly rejected in our Book of Discipline, others are excluded in more subtle ways. Do I plan to quit? No. I am here for the long haul, standing side-by-side with the sort of people whom I feel quite certain Jesus would be hanging out with and fighting for.
I’ll play the Scruples game with a clear conscience, recognizing that some of the questions posed might reveal things that I’d rather keep hidden about myself. Thankfully my friends and family are typically willing to offer me grace in my shortcomings. I’m even more grateful for the abundant grace that God offers each us all as we are given a fresh start each day to repent and align ourselves with God’s will for our lives.
Peace y’all,
To print or share this message, you are encouraged to use this pdf:
Claire – Scruples
To read past editions – you are encouraged to follow this link:
https://capitaldistrictnc.org/claire-ificaton/
