Joy makes peace with Pence

Joy Behar, co-host of ABC's "The View," has reportedly apologized to Vice President Mike Pence for disparaging his Christian faith, equating it with "mental illness."

Behar's apology came via a personal telephone call to Pence, during which she apparently acknowledged the error of her ways. Recently, on the television talk show, Behar said, "It's one thing to talk to Jesus. It's another thing when Jesus talks to you. That's called mental illness, if I'm not correct -- hearing voices."

Pence, always classy, responded at the time on "Fox & Friends" by saying, "People of all different faith traditions, they cherish their faith in God, and to have ABC have a forum that spoke in such demeaning terms, I think it's evidence of how out of touch some in the mainstream media are with the faith and values of the American people."

"Why bother even dignifying her comments with a response?" some may wonder, and they would have a point. Behar is, after all, unhinged -- and she clearly has issues with conservatives and with faith. Addressing every asinine, hateful comment she makes would be a full-time job and not worth the time or effort. But Pence said he "just couldn't be silent" when she equated his faith with "mental illness."

His assessment of Joy Behar, who seems anything but joyful, is correct. She is, indeed, out of touch, as is Omarosa Manigault. This whole thing began with Manigault, people seem to forget. The reality star-turned-Trump-whatever-she-was started this mess by saying Pence's faith would make him a scary president. "Can I just say, as bad as y'all think Trump is, you would be worried about Pence. I will tell you. So everybody that's wishing for impeachment might want to reconsider." She went on to describe Pence as "extreme" before categorizing herself as a Christian: "I'm Christian. I love Jesus, but he thinks Jesus tells him to say things. And I'm like, 'Jesus ain't say that.'"

Well, Jesus ain't said what Manigault said, either, and he sure ain't said what Behar said. What Jesus said was, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27). Manigault, the self-identifying Christian, ought to know that. Common sense reveals that sheep don't hear voices that don't talk, so Jesus is, in fact, talking -- even if some folk ain't listening.

Behar's apology came on the heels of backlash for her comments. What she said, meant to insult the vice president, actually insulted millions of Americans, who take their Christian faith seriously. It appears the comedienne didn't expect that, which proves Pence's point: she's so out of touch she doesn't realize just how far out of touch she is. Criticism came from many places. At a shareholder's meeting on Thursday, shareholder Justin Danhof called Disney chief executive Bob Iger on the carpet. Disney owns ABC, so Iger has to be held to account.

"What do you say to the tens of millions of Christians and President Trump supporters, that your networks have so blatantly offended and ascribed hateful labels?" Danhof reportedly asked.

Pressure already was pouring in due to thousands of calls to sponsors and tens of thousands of calls from the public.

Pence accepted Behar's apology, but he told her she should also apologize to millions of Americans.

This harkens back to what he told CNN the day after Joy's comments: "It's an insult not to me, but to the vast majority of the American people who, like me, cherish their faith.

I have already heard people call Behar's apology insincere and coerced. I don't dive into that pool because, frankly, I have no idea if she was remorseful. I have my hands full just trying to make sure I keep my own heart right, so I have no time to judge Behar's heart. I do know that our actions reveal our heart, so time will tell, and because she runs the mouth so freely, what's in her heart will eventually come out. It's like another Scripture states, through which Jesus also speaks: "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" (Matthew 12:34). What's in there will soon surface.

Some people don't believe other people can change. Of course, they can. What good is our Christian faith if we don't believe it has the power to change hearts and minds? I pray Behar experiences that change now that she has made peace with Pence. I pray she comes to know the Savior who is not just content to hear us speak to Him, but loves us so much, He speaks to us, too.

Adrienne Ross is owner of Adrienne Ross Communications and a former Southeast Missourian editorial board member. Contact her at aross@semissourian.com.