Friday, November 9, 2007

More, more, more

In a world so full of more, more, more, don't let yourself get caught in the undertow. To establish a belief and a set of morals that stem from that belief is important. To get caught in the more, more, more of society is to weaken those morals not just in thought but in deed as well. When we were given the Ten Commandments they were not meant so much as restrictions as they meant peace could be established for all humanity. The ideals and thoughts brought about in the Commandments as well as other writings are there to keep man honest amongst each other while we meander through life trying not to botch it. If we compromise these things by letting ourselves be caught in the undertow of more, more, more we lose sight of keeping our neighbors well being ahead of our own. We stop thinking of the importance of our families and more of what we can have outside of it. Most of all we lose sight of the man upstairs who keeps everything together. Next time you reach that impasse where you want more or "need" more think of others you put out because of it, and if you want to look at it another way everyone you step on going up the ladder will wave at you on your way back down.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Faith is not a weapon

Since I can remember faith of almost all kinds have had to fight with the idea of power and violence. Christians have had the Crusades not to mention a smattering of other less glorious violent routes in the name of God and Jesus. Islam has had its share of wars not only with Christians but with Jews and any number of non-believers. The Jews despite many episodes of torment have become a people well versed in the strength it takes to overcome adversity with faith, yet recently(circa 1948) feel the need to use force against those who have "invaded" their home land. Why is it that we must use our beliefs as weapons against each other not only between faith but within faith. Either their is room for movement in belief or their is no movement in belief. There is no middle ground, period end of story. That is what many would have you believe. They would have you believe that the answers are here, whether they are in the Bible, the Koran, or the Torah. Why is there no room for movement? Why is it that a God we believe is so powerful wouldn't want us to find what we need from different faiths or different creeds within a certain faith? It is my hope that one day it may be possible for my children or children's children to understand not just Christianity but other religions as well so that they may appreciate what they have to offer not only in belief but in history. Most all faiths that I can think of are based on the idea for the betterment of society as a whole no just the singleness of the individual. We need to take a close look at our faiths and examine why it is that we must be self centered as a faith, instead of outgoing to others whether like minded or not. That is what we are called to do whether it be via God through Jesus, Abraham, Mohamed, Buddha, or any other figure. Our focus should be on what makes us the same rather then what makes us different. If you float along the river of love God has given us you will begin to understand the love and comfort that comes from helping others float rather then struggling against them.