Crossing the Line

Perhaps I am totally out of the loop. Or maybe I have just been way too busy, BUT, I had NO idea that Victoria Osteen was being sued for assault on an airline stewardess. Click on the link to the left, you can read about it there. Personally, although I don’t know Victoria, I find this claim to be a bit shady. Before you decide to email me or comment that I don’t know all of the details, or that even co-pastors and pastor’s wives can violate FAA laws, save your fingers, I already know this. Believe me, I know. However, I also know that the airline industry has become fairly sensitive when it comes to even the slightest hint of ill behavior on a plane and rightly so. Since 9/11, people are skittish when it comes to flying, so the FAA looks out for the majority and removes anyone who might threaten an otherwise peaceful flight. Fine, works for me, I appreciate it for the most part. But seriously, I believe this stewardess is looking to make a quick buck. She is suing for punitive damages mounting to 10 percent of Victoria Osteen's net worth as part of her suit. According to court documents, the stewardess claims that she now suffers from anxiety and hemorrhoids because of the incident and said her faith was affected. She is also suing Osteen for medical expenses for counseling.

The part that gets me the most? She said her faith was affected. Sorry folks, this is where I must walk to the front of the bus and make a statement. If this woman’s faith was affected, then her faith was not in God, it was in man, or in this case, a woman. (Another interesting fact… the stewardess previously claimed she was attacked in another incident by an airport employee, according to a deposition she gave in the case.)

As a co-pastor, as a pastor’s wife, as a Christian, I have a confession to make. I more than likely have engaged in behavior unseemly for a co-pastor, pastor’s wife, and *sigh*, a Christian. Right off hand I can recall a time when I made a cashier walk back to the bakery in the grocery store to get me a new loaf of French bread because she was punching buttons on the register with the loaf I wanted to purchase. There was another time I argued over a claim with an insurance agent- loudly- which resulted in them dropping my coverage altogether. I am not proud of those things, they were not my finest moments. Obviously in the heat of the moment I did not ask myself WWJD. So, sorry to disappoint, but I am F-A-R from perfect, as is Victoria Osteen. I do not want to give anyone hemorrhoids or anxiety and I definitely want to be an encourager of the faith not a hindrance.

There have also been times when I have felt the need to rise up and protect my husband , family and myself when accusations would arise. Do I apologize for this? To be honest, I have apologized when everything inside me believed I was in the right, but that is what is expected of a pastor’s wife or a pastor, right? But there is a line, and I draw it whenever necessary. The difficult part of drawing that line is knowing when it IS necessary. Most times I get it right, but there have been times (as I described earlier) that I have crossed my own line! I suspect that is what happened to Victoria that day, but somehow I feel as if assault is not a correct interpretation of the events that occurred. We all know how tight those aisles are near the restrooms, it would be easy to push past someone in an attempt to be vacate the aircraft or retrieve help from another stewardess. Goodness knows how many times I have accidently knocked people already seated upside the head with my own purse as I have plowed down the aisle of the plane searching for my own seat and holding the hand of a toddler who is trying to run ahead of me.

In closing, (goodness, how do I close such a rant?) I will say that Victoria was fined by the FAA but the details on this were not disclosed. I was not present during the alleged event therefore my “gut” does not account for much more than, well, what it is. We will all do and say things we wish we never had and we will cross lines. When we do, let’s not make it difficult for one another to get back up again, after all, WWJD?