“Encourage one another and build each other up” (I Thessalonians 5:11).
Bertha was in her mid-forties. She and husband Gary had gone to pastor in central Florida, and the women of their neighborhood had given a welcoming tea for her at a local upscale restaurant. There were perhaps 20 or 30 in attendance. It was an impressive event.
Throughout the afternoon, an elderly lady across the table kept staring at Bertha. Finally, in her quavering voice, the woman said, “My dear. You are soooo lovely!”
Bertha smiled and thanked her.
A short time afterwards, Bertha was walking home from the tea with one of the women who was a neighbor. The woman said, “Oh, by the way, the older woman who told you you’re so lovely, she is actually almost blind. I thought you would want to know.”
Bertha has no memory of how she responded to that. My own opinion is there is no answer to it. It’s a show-stopper.
Why, we wonder, did the neighbor feel it important to shoot down the older lady’s compliment? What kind of mentality prompts one to do such a thing? Why couldn’t she be content with the pastor’s wife receiving a compliment? (And a fitting compliment at that. Bertha is my bride now of nearly 11 months, and people still remark on her loveliness.)
Facebook users see it all the time.