Feb 17, 2007
Sin and guilt. Tune in a TV preacher, go into any of a number of churches, or even watch some commercials on TV, and you'll hear a lot about sin and guilt.
And, they have many definitions. Is it really a sin to put less than a certain amount into the collection plate, especially for the sake of being able have money for food? Or the other no-no's like ladies coming to church on Easter without a real fancy hat.
And then, there is guilt. Like how, according to one charity's TV commercial, a cute little girl in some other country will suffer unless you send them money. Or the TV evangelist who once announced that God was going to "take him home" unless he raised a certain amount of money for the university named after him.
But there are a couple of other kinds of guilt, more evil and more common. One is "guilt by pronouncement", such as the teacher at school or the supervisor at work who tries to blame you even for a rainy day. And then there is "guilt by gossip", the most evil of the guilt-trip-generators.
I am not sure if the image of gossip being housewives at the back fence ever was anywhere near accurate. But it does seem that in recent years, gossip has gone from "cottage industry" status to factory proportions. This is especially true in schools, churches and the workplace.
Guilt trip? Yes, probably are innocent, but you were pronounced guilty anyway!
So, what are you going to do if someone manages to put you on such a guilt trip? There are ways, and we'll discuss them.
And how to deal with the people who put others onto such guilt trips? We'll make some mention of that, but one basic truth about such people is evident: They are their own karma!