"Be not afraid of growing slowly.
Be afraid of standing still."
~Chinese proverb
A friend, who I've known for many years, and I got into a discussion a few months ago about good and evil. She is a religious person (her claim, not mine). She believes that people are inherently bad, that trust needs to be earned, that people only care about themselves, and that forgiveness shouldn't be easily bestowed on those who hurt us.
These aren't the teachings I think Christ had in mind.
I believe that God's breath, God's light, is in everyone. So, I can not in good conscious, with a clear mind, think that people are inherently bad. And though hurt, I'll keep forgiving. Once you truly forgive, you have no other option but to trust again. And again.
Another friend from high school has "Christian" listed as her religious view on her facebook information page. (In fact, I see this "view" posted often on lots of people's pages.) Yet, she - and others with this label (maybe that's not fair...maybe it seems that people who loudly proclaim to follow Christ - or any other religious figure) - seem to be the first one's to spew hatred, to seethe intolerance, to hurl harmful remarks about/toward other people, especially those who disagree on religious, philosophical, and politcal fronts. Or, better yet, those of a different race or nationality.
The Christ I know doesn't speak like this.
The space under where I sign my checks reads, "Love One Another." That's what Christ taught...to love. I can't recall that He said only love people who are good, who aren't troubled, who haven't sinned, who only have the same skin color as you, who only live where you live and believe what you believe, who haven't hurt you. And if there are exclusions to the "love one another" policy, I'm opting out of them.
Some people believe that going to (Christian) church for an hour per week and sending their kids to Sunday school makes them a good person. And this is how they will achieve salvation. Sadly, they've never read the entire Bible (actually, no one really has since books have been removed, which theoretically makes it incomplete:( page by page in order to understand the context in which it was written. However, they'll pull versus out that they think will support whatever claim they are trying to make that day. (Seriously, I was talking about the Trinity...The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit... to a catholic who goes to church every week and had no idea what I was referring to).
The God I love wants me to carry Him throughout my days with my every breath.
Every day should be Sunday.
Then there are those who want to look good in the eyes of everyone (except their spouses and children...even parents) - usually strangers and those they attend church with...so they'll use the catch phrase..."I'll pray for you!" in order to fall into the good graces of others. Yet, they never take the time to do that - pray - especially not for anyone, except perhaps themselves. Probably, they had no plan on praying...it was simply lip service.
I believe in intention...in being motivated by goodness. I believe in prayer. I think that if I tell someone I'm going to pray for them that I should stop what I'm doing to ask that the Light of Christ touch that person's life. It's not somethng that can wait!
Takers. All of us at one time or another have taken something from another, whether it was given freely or not. But some always take. Giving - emotions, time, things, - is done with the expectation of getting something in return. They withhold affection to punish people who they supposedly care about. Mistakes are always remembered. They neither forgive nor forget. They refuse others a second chance, redemption...but they are the exception...they expect their faults to be overlooked and accepted. They have a difficult time lifting anyone up. They are cruel in action, thought, and speech...and feel no shame or guilt about it.
I feel that we are to be of service to others -in even the simplest of ways. Being in service requires constant giving. We are supposed to act, to behave, in a Christ-like way with everyone in our life, with all whose paths cross ours. Lifting spirits, speaking kind words, understanding even those who hurt us should be priorities throughout our day.
Our arms should be open to not only accepting love and forgiveness, but more important, to giving love and forgiveness. Forgiveness...my goodness...If God allowed us only one mistake...we'd all be screwed!
Love one another!
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