Journal of Sacred Work

We are called to see differently – and then to live differently.  – Rev. Dr. Sallie McFague (below)

 
  Debbie, a nurse herself, lay writhing in pain in her car only a few feet from the entrance to a Nashville hospital E.R. Her husband dashed inside and called to a nurse to bring a wheelchair. "My wife is a nurse and she thinks she's dying," the husband called out.
   As the nurse started toward the E.R. door with a wheelchair, another nurse intervened. "No wheelchairs outside the E.R.," the second nurse commanded. "Rules are rules."
   "But my wife is right there and she can't walk," the husband pleaded, pointing to his spouse in a car that suddenly seemed miles away.
   It was one of those moments where humanity teetered in the balance. We have all heard these stories and shake our heads in wonder at the cold-hearted (though perhaps well meaning) nonsense of slavish adherence to rules.
   Systems command us to live by laws. Humanity often calls us to "see differently" and then to "live differently." Hospitals, hospices, nursing homes and charities that are run by control freaks seem to want everyone to "see" the same way. Since some rules are, in fact, necessary for safe operation and justice, how are we to know when to break a rule and when to follow it?
   The right way to live in a rule-oriented society is simple to describe but can be hard to live – as hard as it is to live Love or to be a Christian. Follow rules when they will advance Loving care. Break them when they don't. And then find the courage to endure the consequences that come from living differently. Heroes like Martin Luther King, Gandhi, and Jesus have shown us the way.
   None of us are wise enough to make the right call every time. If we listen to Love, we will find the right pathway. It can be very hard to live differently, to be the one who follows the call of the heart amid others who are hiding behind rules.
   Fortunately for Debbie, the original nurse glared at the rule-conscious one and said, "I don't care what the rule says, I'm going to help that woman in pain."
   If only every one of these stories turned out like this.
   How can we create cultures where more of us know when to follow the rule and when to ignore it? How can we find the courage to "live differently?"

-Erie Chapman