Anne was a true success...
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Anne was a true success story. She was a stockbroker with a major firm in New York City. She had done very well investing her own money. She drove a nice car, had a nice apartment, and vacationed in nice places. She told me that she had decided on this career even as she went to high school in the hills of one of the poorest states in Appalachia. She said she would pay the price for success. I was curious as to why success was such a valued thing for Anne. Her response went something like this. "Where I grew up everyone was poor. If for some reason someone did succeed and become wealthy, usually they were criticized by the poor folks." Anne told me her mother was the world's worst critic of people. She always found a way to criticize everything. Anne said she knew that when she succeeded she too would be criticized. So she never went home for the class reunions. She visited home only on rare occasions and then very briefly. Jesus taught about criticizing others. He said we should not criticize others if their religious beliefs were different from ours. What a challenge. Can we take it and do something about it? The scripture lesson says God welcomes everyone. Do we welcome everyone?
-- Shearer
-- Shearer
