The Special Hell

"If you take sexual advantage of her, you're going to burn in a very special level of hell. A level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater." - Book from the tv series Firefly

I get so frustrated at people.

Case:

My bio Dad had a heart attack on Christmas day. I'm standing in the ER room, my hand clutched around my Dad's hand watching him struggle to breath and relax. A pastor from my parent's old church was in the room talking to my very disraught Mother. This pastor knows they switched churches. Mom tells him the why after he asks. This pastor has no regard for the situation, no. He repeats this mantra of his "You should really come to our church again" over and over about five or six times, each time after Mom tells him no and explains the situation of my Dad's health. It was like, he was blaming the leaving of his church on my Dad's declining health! He never quoted scripture. Never once tried comforting with words of God. Nope, just harassing my Mom to come back to his church like it would work a miracle.

I'm a gentle person. Best wife you could ever ask for, if I say so myself. Good friend. And fierce to protect my family and friends. Diplomacy? Diplomacy is for whimps! After the sixth time of this idiot pastor repeating himself, I'd had it. I yelled at him. I told him exactly how he was coming across, what he *should* be doing and that if he couldn't do his job correctly, then he needed to leave the ER and take his negativity with him. He apologized and quickly left the room.

On the way home, I told Paul what I'd done. Paul laughed and agreed with me that I'd done what needed to be said. (Paul is a pastor in training, me, not too much of a pastor's quiet wife yet) Paul said it explained the situation in the waitingroom not long after. The pastor came out, was saying goodbye to my brother, my brother was explaining to Paul who this pastor was. The pastor in turn thought he'd missed part of the family and he was right. The pastor asked who Paul was to the family. Paul told the pastor that he was my husband. Pastor never even offered to shake his hand. Paul said the pastor said goodbye to my oldest brother and high tailed it out of there.
So, I started joking that I was going to that special hell. I know it's wrong. I'm a saved woman. But, if I wasn't, that's where I'd go for having words with a man of the cloth.

A pastor's place (or rabbi, or priest) in a situation such as that is to quote scripture. Comfort the family. Assure that God's love will get us through what needs be. Don't sit there and try lecturing that leaving a specific church will cause someone in your family to have a heart attack! Dad had a heart attack because he doesn't give a hinds about his health that is already failing due to being on dialysis. Dad is a saved man. This pastor was way outta line.