I'll do Anything for You...

now that I have embarrassed myself, embarrassed you, possibly ruined my career, and brought to light an illicit May/December affair I've been having (or had, kinda doesn't matter at this point)

I didn't want to do it, but there has been so much pressure. Besides everybody is getting in on it, why not me too? I mean Oprah, Joy Behar, Denise Brown, heck they even dredged up Robin Givens from somewhere...so why not me? What because I'm a man, does that automatically make me the enemy? Maybe I'm just a spectator, or I'm reformed.. you know; rehabilitated. Maybe I'm a facilitator, or worse an excuse maker and enabler. Nah none of those things...I have remained quiet to give this thing enough time to let nature take its course...well I didn't have to wait long (that's where the title comes from; you know the song from Denroy Morgan - I'll do anything for you, I'll give the world to you, if you want me to.

Rhianna and Chris Brown - seems like he's willing to do anything, rather suddenly too... fire his manager/lover? no problem!....spend some hideaway time at P. Diddy's house? sure! I'd bet he would bend over backwards right about now. And as he does whatever she wants, the immaturity of their years shines through. He gets his lawyers to work behind the scenes trying to get her to drop charges. Typical...and sad.

I didn't weigh in until now because I wanted to see how they would act, in public, apart or together. I have to say that the timetable did surprise me. I certainly didn't expect him to apologize and beg forgiveness so soon, and I certainly didn't believe she would so readily take him back. Now I'm not about to sit here and lecture anyone about the ills of hand to hand combat in a relationship, nor am I going to debate who hit who first or if it is appropriate to over-defend yourself against the onslaught of a woman scorned. What I will talk about as it relates to this drama is the role of a male friend to Chris Brown...people like P. Diddy, Jay Z, or any number of people that genuinely call him friend. You see I feel it is the man-friend's place to help him out. Not necessarily to scold or lecture...more to encourage and enlighten. The only corrective measure that is known to work for abuse is self-enlightenment and a word we love to say in church repentance.

See repentance means more than saying I'm sorry, more than making it up to the offended party, and more than moving on from the past. Repentance requires a shift in your way of thinking about a particular subject or behavior. Repentance does not come from the outside in, it must come from deep within the heart of the offender. It must be born, not of necessity or fear, but of genuine love and concern. If Chris Brown is sent to jail, he might not repent...If Jay Z pops a cap in his ass, he may not repent...If Rhianna sues him, he may not repent. Chris Brown is the one who has to convince Chris Brown that what he did was wrong, and that no matter what the issue or problem, violence solves nothing. As has already been proven, it just makes matters worse. This lesson is not confined to affairs of the heart, it is a lesson that can be applied across a broad spectrum of issues we face every day. As children of a very wise God, we all enjoy the gift of free will. As citizens of the United States we enjoy practically limitless freedom to do whatever er like. There is and always has been only one stipulation...

"we always have to be willing to accept the consequences of our decisions and actions."