Page 18 - C:\Users\Owner\Documents\Flip PDF Professional\Ellin Dize proof book\

White Trash

April

This morning while watching Julia Child oversee the making of a tapenade, a new
program seemed to abruptly begin with an interview of a country singer, who seemed like
a really nice guy. He told about his first album titled, White Trash With Money.
The country singer joked that he might write a sequel to his single: "Get Drunk and Be
Somebody!" The singer says he likes to shock people!
The title of the album came about because the singer’s teenage daughter got into a
‘shouting match’ with a local debutante, and ended with the debutante pronouncing that
the singer’s family was “white trash with money.”
The celebrity said, “he makes his living being white trash” and is getting revenge
visualizing the debutante and her family seeing the album, “White Trash With Money”
on display in Wal-Mart.
We can slough off this album, the lyrics, and even the singer’s attitudes by
rationalizing: “this is modern society” and therefore, not make any serious gestures about
any of it.
But what is this type of publicity, et al - solidifying in our society?
Children don’t know that this is not the proper way to behave in society…especially
children who have not had any Biblical teaching. When any question in life arises, about
anger, pride, revenge, humbleness and retaliation, the answer can be found in the Bible.
The first mention of anger appears in Genesis 27:43-45 (NRSV): “Esau hated Jacob.”
Their father, Isaac, told his son Jacob to flee until Esau’s anger subsides with time. He
did not tell Jacob to retaliate.
In Matthew 5:38-41 (NRSV), Jesus makes these statements: “if anyone strikes you on
the right cheek, turn the other! Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
…” Jesus wants us to love our neighbors, even if they don’t love us. The counselor’s
terminology: ‘All or nothing thinking’ looms-out at us here. Jesus is not saying to be a
doormat for anyone! Love them with your heart. Isaac was saying love your brother,
who hates you, but don’t just stand there and let him kill you! God gave us a brain and
expects us to use it! So, don’t be a dummy, and then refer to an out-of-context Bible
verse as your back up for inappropriate actions.
1 John 2:16 (NRSV) states: “…the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but
from the world…” So when we behave pridefully, seek revenge, and boast about it on
television, we as thinking people, have to see it for what it is. It divides us as God’s
people…it teaches our youth behaviors that can lead to a creation of anxiety and misery
in their lives. So when a TV program ends, pay attention! Don’t stay on the channel to
learn about celebrities who shock people for personal gain. You may want to switch the
channel to learn about people who do things to glorify our Creator, who think that they
are important because they are the daughter or son of a King.

9