By Caprice Coleman
Every once in a while I’ll go to a church I’ve never been to before to see what their visitors’ experience is like – the treatment you get when no one knows who you are.
It was raining hard on this occasion, so hard in fact that when we pulled up one of the parking director’s hair chemicals seemed to be seeping into his eyes. His dedication to his job while obviously in pain was kind of heroic.
When we got inside there was a place to put the umbrellas. The courteous ushers pointed out to us that the floor was wet.
As I stepped on the floor, I immediately slid a little. They looked at me and I said “I’m OK” and kind of James Brown-ed the slide off. They laughed in approval of the timing.
Another usher cupped my arm before I got inside to say, “Hey, I saw your little dance over there. We don’t have any of that Michael Jackson stuff in here. You can leave it at the door.”
It offended me and low-key hurt my feelings because she had not been in on the joke and obviously “didn’t know me.” I contemplated leaving, but I let it go.
I’ll admit it took some effort to put my pride aside, but I was determined to see the rest of the service. It was an amazing experience, and the message ended up being something I needed to hear.
I’ve heard and preached the Christmas story plenty of times. However, this time he said something that I would not have heard if I did not attend the service or left because I had taken offense.
He talked about how the Gift of Christmas (Jesus) was God’s answer to us asking Him why he doesn’t come here and do something.
The message stood out to me because many haven’t received the Gift. Sometimes those claiming to have it offend those trying to receive it. This in some way has made the Gift itself offensive.
I was also reminded that the Gift is for everyone.. There are going to be those with the Gift who may offend others because they’re not perfect. However, the gift of Christmas is perfect.
Don’t let taking offense keep you from your Gift. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Just something to think about. I call it a dose of Colemanism.
Caprice Coleman is ROH’s color analyst and has been wrestling for more than 20 years. He also is an ordained minister and motivational speaker. A Dose of Colemanism appears every Thursday.
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