The Irony of Rick Warren: "It's Not About You!"

Irony has a habit of presenting itself when you least expect it. I came across this diatribe (justified) by a South Carolina state representative who is himself a "Rev." He invokes Rick Warren in taking Mark Sanford, Governor of South Carolina to task about refusing the Stimulus money offered to the state. He does it in a very well-written and powerful way:

Rev. Joseph Neal, The State:

Author and pastor Rick Warren begins his transformative book, The Purpose Driven Life, with a simple statement: “It’s not about you.”

As Gov. Mark Sanford engages the General Assembly in political gamesmanship over accepting federal stimulus dollars, his actions should prove to South Carolinians that despite his words to the contrary, it’s not about you.

Don’t be confused. Whether or not the governor accepts the money has nothing to do with the potential impact on you, your family or your quality of life.

So, to the more than 4 million residents of our state, it’s not about you.

To the 1,000 to 6,000 public school teachers facing layoffs if the money is rejected, it’s not about you.

To the hundreds of thousands of school children facing larger class sizes, fewer gifted and talented course offerings and fewer textbooks and supplies, it’s not about you.

To the business owners who rely on state government or the workers it employs to survive, it’s not about you.

To the 241,000 residents currently unemployed, it’s not about you.

Even to the 601,868 of you who voted for Sanford in the 2006 general election, it’s not about you.

And especially to the 170 members of the General Assembly, it’s not about you.

The rest is HERE.

Ironic? Yes. A pastor quoting Rick Warren to chastise a Republican governor. Yes, it is a twist of fate. But it brings out another aspect of the Warren story.

Rick Warren: It's not about you.

This man has been all lover the place trying to cast himself in a better light after Proposition 8 and the Presidential Inauguration. "I'm not anti-gay."

But, Rick, it's not about you.