Decades ago I quit listening to Christian radio because of the right-wing political stance adopted by seemingly all stations. By accident I found a station that breaks out of the ranks of conservative craziness. My wife Lois has KLOVE preset and always on in the car. She usually drives the car and I take the truck.
I usually change the station right away when I drive the Taurus. I surf for a station that is playing classic rock. I know that rock is anathema to most Christians but I like what I like, be it the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, etc. I do not apologize for my tastes in music, which is eclectic, and personal. Anyway I was about to change the station when I heard the voice of a young woman who had called in, her voice quavering. She shared about abuses suffered at the hands of her mother. Mom had destroyed her self-confidence and self-worth, while unfavorably comparing her to her peers.
This struck a chord with me. I felt the young woman's pain, because I have been there. I suffered put-downs, mocking, unfavorable comparisons with my peers, all from my mother. I was transported to those humiliating times and tears welled in my eyes. I had to pull over in a parking lot off the highway to listen to the rest of the call.
The moderator responded in a soft, loving voice and told her that Jesus loved her and she was indeed not worthless. There was no sermonizing, no Scripture references, no condemnation, just compassion-genuine compassion.
Oh, to see that compassion in the rest of the (Christian) world, rather than the right-wing politics, the hatred of those "who are not like us," the smack-down preaching, the intolerance.
