I, like so many others, dread watching the news. It's full of so much negativity, so much crime, so much devastation. The world looks like it's just getting worse and worse. People are filled with so much fear of so many things. Why? What has gone wrong? Can it be fixed?
I am a thinker, so in each situation I see, I ask myself... 'what caused this?' All too often the answer is 'a dishonorable person.' What do I mean by that? To me the word honor means to consider the needs of others and not push someone else down so you can move up. Violent crime is obvious, but how about the less obvious ones? What about the business world? What about the government? What about the special interest groups? All over we see people trampling the rights and freedoms of others in order to secure their own. Each obviously believes in what they are doing, but I would suggest that maybe some go about things the wrong way. When you are fighting FOR one thing, you are also fighting AGAINST another. Can that be done with honor? Often in our anger at injustice we just create more injustice and hurt more people.
A CEO loves money, so he screws over all the people working for him to line his own pockets, paying minimum wage, not giving benefits, not giving enough hours, all while pocketing all the profit their hard work is earning.
Banks want more money, so they offer predatory loans to people beyond what they can actually afford and the people end up losing their homes.
A teenager wants nicer shoes, so he steals money from his neighbor to buy them.
A man wants sex, so he rapes a girl on the street.
A student feels bullied and outcast, so he brings a gun to school and shoots a bunch of his classmates.
A group feels oppressed, so they rally to create laws and cultural 'norms' meant to punish all those who don't agree with them. Or they riot in the streets and burn down the city in protest.
But what if it wasn't this way ? What if we were a people of honor who took responsibility for our own choices and treated others the way we wanted to be treated? What if....
That CEO chose to take care of his employees and give them enough hours and salary that they could live? Wouldn't they work harder for him and potentially gain even more profit? Or maybe he just realizes that he doesn't need all those extra 0s on his paycheck and sees that he has a chance to make the world a better place by spreading that wealth around to those who helped him gain it.
Banks lent responsibly, empowering people to live within their means. Would those loans actually get paid off and not defaulted on? Would the bank actually make more money from actual payments? Would they have return customers and good recommendations?
The teen goes out and gets a job, being a responsible citizen so he can earn those new shoes.
The man treats women well and establishes a mature and healthy relationship with a woman and marries her.
Students treated each other kindly and made everyone feel welcome and accepted?
People all realize that in order for anyone to have freedom, we all must have freedom.
Just a few thoughts, but I don't think that this is in error. Treating others as we wish to be treated is the bottom line. When you have to hurt someone else to get what you want, YOU are in the wrong. YOU are the problem. We can't force anyone to be a nice person, but if we each choose to live this way, it can be contagious. Every choice we face, we have the opportunity to make the world a better place or a worse one. Sometimes choosing better means we make a sacrifice, but isn't it worth it in the long run?
I know many people look at religion as a prison, a set of rules that extinguishes our freedom, but I don't see it that way. The rules are just like any others, they are meant to help us see how to live without hurting ourselves or others. The Bible says "It is for freedom that Christ set us free." In Romans it says that we used to be slaves to sin - I take that to mean that our default mode is to act selfishly or "sin" when presented with a choice. Watch a toddler for a few minutes if you don't believe that. We all are supposed to learn how to behave apart from our base instincts. It takes a higher level of maturity to choose love over self most of the time. It's easier to steal something than to work hard and save up for it. Most of us grown ups will do that without thinking. Our relationships with the world around us will be better if we choose to use our freedom to love. That is what I think it means. When you live a dishonorable life, you'll find that you're always looking over your shoulder, trying not to get caught or running from those out to get you. That's not freedom.
Love is the higher way. Life in Christ empowers us to make the choice for love every time. We are free to choose love and spread freedom wherever we go.
