Victoria Osteen, wife of Pastor Joel Osteen, has been exonerated by a Houston jury. A flight attendant accused her of assault, demanding 10 per cent of Victoria's net worth as punitive damages for her psychological trauma. But three witnesses testified that Victoria did not assault the flight attendant, even though there was a clash of wills between the two. And I heard on the O' Riley Factor last night that this flight attendant has sued another person for assault, so this is something she's done more than once.
I was recently listening to Joel Osteen's Become a Better You while catching up on some schoolwork. Joel talked about being willing to let things go instead of getting into arguments, and the need to have peace in the midst of life's difficulties.
Victoria could have done a better job on the first lesson. The dispute was over a spill on Victoria's seat, which Victoria wanted the flight attendant to clean up. When the attendant handed her some napkins, Victoria responded, "That's not my job." But Victoria eventually cleaned up the spill.
Victoria should have just cleaned it up in the first place, without demanding special treatment or getting into an altercation. But nobody's perfect. I know that I haven't mastered all the principles that Joel talks about. It's a process, and life will always present me with opportunities to act with patience and love. Sometimes, I'll succeed. Sometimes, I'll fail. That's just life.
For the second lesson, being patient amidst life's difficulties, Joel and Victoria shined. This whole experience must have been hard for them. Here's a high-profile preacher, and he's getting bad publicity because of a lawsuit. How embarrassing! What would that do to his ministry? But Joel kept on smiling throughout the whole ordeal, and I don't think it was just for the cameras. He didn't look like he was posing at all, for his face displayed a sense of inner peace. I'll bet he was truly leaving this to God! He had an opportunity to practice some of the principles that he talks and writes about.
Don't we all?
Another thing I read: When the court was selecting jury members, it ran into a little snag, as they tried to pick people who were impartial. Many of the potential jurors said that they liked Joel, since his messages helped them a lot. This tells me that Joel's advice really can work. It's easy to watch Joel and think, "This guy talks about positive thinking. Well, I'd be positive too, if I had tons of money and a hot babe for a wife. He doesn't know about my struggles." But the fact is that real people in real, everyday life try out what Joel says and succeed as a result.
Also, as I was listening to Joel on those CDs yesterday, I thought, "This is a guy who really wants to help people." He's not just trying to draw attention to himself; rather, he has something valuable to offer, and so he shares it. I don't always feel spiritually fed by his messages, since they tend to focus a lot on positive thinking and success, not really on knowing Jesus Christ. Paul said, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death" (Philippians 3:10), and Joel doesn't talk much about that. But he still offers valuable, practical advice, and he draws much of it from the Bible. He also bases it on experience, both his own and that of his friends, family, and acquaintances. You really can't argue with that.
I'm glad that this lawsuit is behind us. Keep up the good work, Joel and Victoria!