Oops. Last summer Shirell Powell made the difficult decision to authorize doctors to stop life support efforts for her younger brother. It was only while arranging her brother’s funeral that she discovered that she made the decision to end the life not of her brother but of a complete stranger. Her brother was in jail all along.
Powell’s brother, Frederick Williams, shared a name with the man who eventually died and apparently must have looked at least somewhat the same.
The article I was reading spoke about how upset Mrs. Powell was and she’s suing the hospital for the emotional harm they caused. Fred is a little upset that his older sister agreed to pull his plug.
But it’s interesting that nobody is talking about the other Frederick Williams, you know the one who died, or about how his family is feeling.
It is easy to allow life to become all about us, how we feel, how we were treated unfairly and to miss the fact that we aren’t alone.
What Jesus taught, in what is so often called the Gold Rule, is that others need to fit into the equation as well. If we are going to follow Jesus it needs to become less about how we are treated and more about how we treat others.
Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.