The Rathers

I heard a story the other day about Teddy Roosevelt on a hunting trip. He was getting rained on, it was freezing, and there were no animals in sight.  It was miserable.  Someone in the hunting party said, "I'd rather we went over there to hunt where it might be dryer." Another said," I'd rather we would have waited for a better forecast without rain." The guide simply said, "This is not a trip for the rathers".  In other words, the guide was telling them that they needed to deal with reality and nothing else.

More and more we are seeing people not deal with reality.  We are bombarded with so many false ideas and bad ideas that it is easy to get caught in "the rathers".  I'd rather people be nice. I'd rather people believe the best about one another. I'd rather my kids were pleasant today.  But this isn't a trip for the rathers.  So instead, I will start where I am.  
I will forgive those that are judging me falsely. I will give grace to my kids. I will be nice to others even when they aren't nice to me.  I will pray for those on social media who seem crazy!

It seems as if many of us who follow Jesus have started living in "the rathers" instead of the real world.  We expect everyone to believe and act like we want them to instead of doing what Jesus told us to do- love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. You can't follow Jesus and live in "the rathers".