But let's face it. Most people don't watch that show for the suspense or thought-provoking plots. People watch that show for the music and teenage drama and laughing at plot holes and continuity issues.
Until tonight, that is.
In approximately 44 minutes of screen time, we saw a former closeted bully get harassed, attempt suicide, survive said attempt, his former bully victim comfort him in the hospital, the worst bully of them all try and blackmail his competition and then turn out to have a soul and raise money at a singing competition to support victims of bullying, two teenagers about to get married, and a girl get T-boned in a car crash texting while driving.
The flow may not have been stellar, but I'll just say this: This show has never broken my heart more.
I know what it's like to be bullied. I know what it's like to be that depressed. I know what it's like to feel like you're going to be an outcast forever and feel like there's no point to living your life. No, I never attempted suicide, but I definitely thought about it. However, if I hadn't had Matt, that last sentence would probably be different. So yeah, I get it.
I wanted to reach into that television and just hold Dave (the guy who attempted suicide). I wish I could tell him that as cliché as it sounds, life really does get better, and that there are people who love him. How my life was so painful and now I'm surrounded by true friends that would do anything for me. And then it made me start thinking about all the real life kids who hit Dave's point every single day and don't survive. About all of the stories I find online of 13 and 14-year-old kids killing themselves because of people who tell them they're not worth it.
I hate to sound like a PSA, but why can't we all just be nicer? Especially Christians. A LOT of the kids who bullied me were kids I was in my church's youth group with, and I really wanted to ask them (and their parents, who weren't much better) if they really thought that Jesus would tell them to discriminate and make someone else feel worthless and "less than." Would Jesus tell them to tell people to burn in hell for being gay? Would Jesus tell them to call an overweight kid names? Would Jesus tell them to tell the nerds to kill themselves because they don't have lives?
You know the answer: No. Jesus would sit down with the gay kid, the overweight kid, the nerd and have dinner with them. He would let them know they are loved and have worth and that they MATTER.
I don't mean to sound like I'm preaching. I'm guilty of this, too. In fact, I was guilty of it yesterday. Not this harshly, but I was getting really annoyed by a girl in our Water Aerobics class and thought some pretty hateful things. And frankly, I'm ashamed of myself. I have to be better.
Jesus died for me. He died for you. He died for all of us. Our job as Christians isn't to shove Him down everyone's throats and tell them our way is the only way to live or they're going to die a fiery death in the pits of evil and that's where they belong unless they agree with us. Our job is to love everyone and to tell them of a Love that is so much greater than all of us.
Everyone is worthy of love. Even the people who are mean to you. They're still worthy of it, too. Because they're human and they sin and they might be dealing with something you have no clue about.
We may be Christians, but we are no better than the Muslims, or the Jews, or the atheists. Our faith doesn't make us perfect; our faith makes us seem perfect to the One who created us. Our faith doesn't make us success stories; it makes us forgiven for our failures.
At least...that's how I see it.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Cliché, but also true.
This second one, it's just for fun. :)
oh mal....how well your message is spoken. i too love glee and as i watched it last night with my daughter, we were both talking to dave as he was dressing in his suit. don't do it! oh god please don't let him do it. my daughter was a victim of bullying. i have never understood why she was bullied so badly. she was a cheerleader, thin, cute, got good grades....i just didn't get it. for some reason, she was the weak link with the girls that were her "friends". it was aweful. because of it, she did things that i am not proud of and that she is not proud of. she became promiscuous thinking that would help her find someone who would like her. well we all know that doesn't work. it was hard. she was diagnosed with depression and suffered from post traumatic stress like symptoms and flash backs. it was aweful. through a lot of counseling and some medications, she is no longer that beaten down and broken girl. she has respect for herself now and for the most part is very comfortable with herself. (you know girls, we can't ever be perfectly happy with how we are!! :) ) i am so glad that she came to me because i didn't know the bullying was as bad as it was. i feel so bad for those kids who don't have anyone to turn to or even don't feel like they do. the ironic thing in all of this is that olivia's first semester of college she made the president's list with a 4.0, has direction in her life and has a boyfriend who loves her for who and what she is. and the bullies....well, one had a baby when she was 17, another ended up being bullied herself and didn't even attend her own graduation! ironic how things happen right? i don't know exactly what my point is in sharing all of this other than you are right, things do get better. you do find your niche in life. and with god by your side, things always work out. so the bad thing about glee.....the next new episode isn't until april 10!!!!! what the heck!! :)
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