Chapter 6: The Golden Rule: Love thy neighbor as thyself

Love Your Enemies

The Golden Rule: Love others as yourself - this is what I grew up thinking about and using as a guideline - to treat others the way I wanted to be treated.  I did not know much about what the bible said, as during my childhood days, the King James was the only version available.  It was hard to understand but I understood the greatest commandment: Luke 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself".  

After I moved away from home to Marietta, Georgia (1969) my first job was with the Electrolux Treasury office in Atlanta, Georgia as a cashier in the accounts receivable department.  I was excited as this job paid twice what I had received while working for Honeywell in Tampa, Florida.  I had moved up here with a high school friend and her brother who was attending Kennesaw State University.  My friend got a job there also as secretary to one of the two VIP's in the company.  She was great at shorthand and an excellent secretary and we were temporarily living with her grandmother on her mother's side.  After about 6 months, I moved out with two girls from North Carolina and was completely on my own.

After about six months, I started attending a church: "Welcome All Baptist Church" and began hanging out with the young adult career group.  We started doing things together and hanging out after church, on weekends more and more and I began to withdraw from my friend as well.  At one point I heard a sermon on "Come out from among them and be separate" – I felt this is what the Lord wanted me to do, so I quit doing anything with my high school friend, Ellen.  She liked doing things that I was not comfortable being involved in - like parties where drinking and mingling were the main goal of the evening, which I realized I had little in common with.  I did not drink, nor mingle intimately like many of these party goers did and many times I was alone while everyone else got drunk and paired up.  They would be sick the next day (sometimes on the way home!) and sleep in, which to me made no sense!  Also, I did not like going to drive-in restaurants and meeting guys and "hooking up" with them, so I realized I had nothing in common with Ellen.  I was taught to pray and wait for "Mr. Right" (see "Sharron's Mr. Wright" for God's answer) so I was especially not interested in fighting off these party boys.  

There was another secretary, Sheila, that worked for the other top VIP for Electrolux and one day she asked me if she could ride to work with me as she did not drive yet - did not have a car.  I agreed as she lived five minutes from my apartment.  We agreed to leave by 7:30 AM to reach Atlanta, by 8:00.   My friend Ellen had gotten upset with me because I no longer wanted to go hang out with her and she began to turn against me.  Things began to happen one right after another, which really tested my faith and spiritual walk.  At this time I was not yet familiar with much in the Bible, except what I heard preached each Sunday, and what my grandmother had repeatedly told me growing up:  Luke 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself".  Also, "Love your enemies and do good to those that despitefully use you".  

One day while at work, I received a phone call from a company, "Lullaby Diaper Service" stating that they heard I was interested in their diaper service.  I was indignant at this as I had never even had a boyfriend and could not possibly be pregnant!   I informed the lady about this and asked how she came to get my name and work number.  She said, "Well you might ask someone named Mary, as that is the referral we received".  This was one of my two roommates and I knew she had nothing to do with this.  I asked her when she arrived home and she confirmed she knew nothing about it and was upset someone had used her name.  

The following week, one Friday night while I was waiting for Mary to return home - she was going out on a date she regretted and was planning on coming home early, when the phone rang.  It was supposedly someone from Tampa, Florida looking for Ellen - an old boyfriend who wanted to get in touch with her.  I informed him I had not seen her lately and knew nothing about her but gave her address and phone number to him.  A little later Mary returned home and we left for Shoney's restaurant for desert.  As I walked to my car I noticed that it was covered with what appeared to be a mixture of corn meal, eggs, and water, all lumpy and running down the roof of my car, all over it.  It was still sliding down so I knew it had just happened - the perpetrators of this crime were probably watching out there somewhere laughing!  It had slid down the front windshield into the wipers - it was a total mess!  I was shocked - so was Mary.  We got into the car, drove to the gas station next to our apartments, and a very sweet guy offered to rinse our car off for us - he informed us we needed to do it quickly as that stuff, if allowed to dry, would have ruined my paint and would never have come off!   We both had an idea who was behind this by now.   We figured it was Ellen and her friends and that was the reason for the old boyfriend call – to see if I was at home.  The next day when Sheila (who was participating in this stuff) arrived to ride in with me, my car had no sign of the mess and I never even mentioned that it had happened.  I just left her wondering, knowing she could not ask about it.  I never told anyone at work that it even happened.

After a couple of weeks had passed, one morning my rider - Sheila never showed up.  I waited till 8:00 AM for her but never heard from her.  I was actually late to work that day due to waiting for her.  Around 9:00 that morning she arrived looking very angry and approached my desk.  To help you get the picture, I worked in an open office where there were only partitions for each department - just like the movie with Dolly Pardon in "Nine to Five", and everyone knew each other's business!  It was one whole floor open with nothing but partitions separating each area, which you could easily see over while sitting at your desk. Anyway, back to my story - Sheila walked up to me and said very loudly and angrily, "Okay b****, why did you leave me!?  I was so upset and shaking with righteous indignation, as I had been late waiting on her!  I tried to maintain my composure and anger, and sternly replied: "Look, I was late waiting for you this morning.  You are not doing me any favors riding to work with me - I am doing you a favor.  If you want to ride to work with me, you be there by 7:30 as in the future I will be leaving at 7:30 whether or not you are there so if you are running late I have a phone, you can call me!  From now on if you are not there I am leaving as I am not going to be late because of you.”  She tried to get me to lower my voice as "everyone can hear you" but I finished my speech and sat down, shaking all over.  

Around two hours later, she walked up to me and speaking as if nothing had happened at all, asked: "Sharron, can you give me a ride home today as Ellen has to work her other job and I need a ride home, if you wouldn't mind".  I wanted to yell in her face and say, "Are you crazy - after what you just said and did?  No, get your own transportation from now on" but that still small voice reminded me of my rules to live by: “do good to those that despitefully use you, love your enemies, and treat others the way you want to be treated" so I reluctantly yielded and said sure.  While driving home she lit into me and started saying the most horrible things you can imagine!   She said, "Sharron, did you know that your mother does not even know who your daddy is?  Also, “the only reason you are still a virgin is because a guy would have to put a bag over your head to have relations with you!”  I cannot even recall all she said to me but she did not stop the railing accusations, speaking very angrily all the way home - I only recall the two mentioned above.  I held my tongue through most of it but did say: “you have no room to talk anyway as you are living with your boyfriend” to which she replied: “What we have is beautiful, but you are a tramp.”  I let her vent - I tried to turn my radio up loud so I could not hear her, but she reached over and turned it off, and said:  “Honey, it's a long way home and you’re going to have to sit here and listen!"  Normally you would just pull over, ask her to get out and find her own way home but I was guided by a higher power that held me to my "Golden Rule" and prompted me to leave her to Him - my enemies were His enemies, and vengeance was His, not mine.  Also, while driving home I had noticed that about 4 or 5 cars back Ellen was following us, and I knew then that they fully expected me to put her out and Ellen would pick her up, but I did not!  

After arriving at her apartment to drop her off, I said: "Sheila, one of these days I hope you grow up and act like an adult" to which she answered, "Yes mother!" and slammed the car door and departed.   Needless to say, she stopped riding in with me.  My friend Ellen moved back to Florida shortly after this incident and life went on. 

Around 6 months later, one day I decided to bake a lemon meringue pie which was my favorite and I loved to cook so I practiced on people at work.  The Lord spoke to me: "I want you to invite Sheila to share your pie".  I froze - and thought, Lord, please don't make me do that - besides, she may not even like lemon pie!  But again He asked me to go and ask her to join us when we eat the pie.  I was shaking so badly, especially my knees, that when I walked up to her desk, she looked at me with a cold stare that seemed to say, "And what do you want?"  My legs started banging on the back of her desk till I had to step back and I thought my heart would pound out my throat, but in obedience to the Lord, I asked: “Sheila, I made a lemon meringue pie and your welcome to come join us for a piece if you like."  She was shocked and smiled sweetly and said: “Well, thank you Sharron, I would love to, and as a matter of fact, that is my favorite pie!"  

A few months later, the head cashier was leaving to become a Catholic Nun and we were having a going away party for her.  I remember she came to me and said that Ellen and Sheila told her not to believe anything I said, that I exaggerated and made up stuff all the time - nothing I said was true.  She then said: “I have watched you and worked with you for a year now and none of that is true, those things really do happen to you and you do not exaggerate!  I just want to ask you one thing: who was your teacher?” 

Years down the road when I finally met my “Mr. Right” Ellen called me to congratulate me on my wedding day and told me she was happy for me and that if anyone deserved it, I did.  Several years later while I was on vacation in Florida at Crystal Springs with my family, Ellen was there and I got to speak with her and tell her how God had answered my prayers for my "Mr. Right".  I have the peace of God that He alone can give to those that love Him and walk in obedience and simple trust, according to His Word – it really does work and like His Word says:  "When a man's ways please the LORD, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. Proverbs 16:7.  I am living proof that He is faithful to His Word and promises.