In a recent Reddit post, a user faced a dilemma surrounding the act of prayer before meals. Here’s what happened.
‘Can We Pray?”
Emily’s friend and her family are devout Christians, whereas Emily comes from a Buddhist home. She is not very religious, but she does go to temple and do what her mom tells her to do.
The story began last weekend when Emily and her friend had planned a hangout at her friend’s house. As Emily arrived with some food, they were hungry and eager to enjoy their meal.
However, before they sat at the dining table, her friend asked Emily if they could pray.
Emily hesitated and remained silent, prompting her friend to ask again and explain that she wouldn’t have to say anything. She closed her eyes and pressed her hands together while leading the prayer.
Participating in Another Religion’s Practice Might Disrespect Her Beliefs
Emily responded with an awkward smile and explained that she is Buddhist.
In her religious upbringing, praying before meals is not a common practice. Instead, they express gratitude towards the people who prepared and served the meal.
Emily voiced her concern that participating in another religion’s practice might disrespect her beliefs. She reassured her friend that she would wait for her to finish praying before she started eating.
However, her friend became visibly upset and continued persuading Emily to join the prayer.
She Felt Caught off Guard
However, Emily respectfully declined again, expressing her discomfort with participating in a practice that conflicted with her religious beliefs.
Her friend sighed and began her prayer while Emily patiently waited. However, the experience left Emily unsettled, affecting her enjoyment of the meal.
This was her first time hanging out at her friend’s house and the first time she had asked her to pray before a meal.
Emily felt caught off guard because she hadn’t witnessed her friend praying or requesting others to join her in previous outings with friends.
Had she acted poorly?
Despite her efforts to brush it off, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of guilt and wonder if she had acted poorly.
Reflecting on the situation, Emily began questioning whether she was in the wrong.
She took to Reddit to ask if she was wrong for what she did, and several Redditors sided with her, saying she was not in the wrong.
“Her Pressuring You To Participate Was Incredibly Disrespectful After You Declined”
One Reddit user wrote, “NTA. Staying quiet and respectfully waiting for her to finish before eating was the right move. Her pressuring you to participate was incredibly disrespectful after you declined. Asking you once was fine, but she should have left it at that.”
Another Redditor commented, “NTA. You respected her religion by waiting ’till after she prayed to eat. She did not respect your religion and tried to push you to observe hers.”
She Got Revenge on Karen Customer Who Made Her Work Life Hell
The post Between Faiths – A Mealtime Dilemma Sparks Reflection on Respect and Belief first appeared on The Net Worth Of.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Mix and Match Studio. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: Reddit