not really an update...but worth reading.
As you all know...well most of you readers...I go to sing in the church choir at Holy Spirit and practice every Tuesday. Well at the end of practice we usually say our prayers...but this week it was a little different. We were given an article to read. Well....I just wanted people to read this and just think. Whether you're a believer or not..I still feel that it goes both ways. Enjoy.
"Without love of God, love of neighbor is unlikely. Without God, why should I love my neighbor? Have you noticed that, as our culture has become more secular, we have drawn more and more into ourselves? Me, myself, and I--those are the important words in many people's vocabulary today. And why not--if there is no God? Why not look out for No. 1? That's what happens when faith wanes.
The most natural thing in the world is for us to love ourselves and those who are an extension of ourselves--our family, or clan, or tribe--and to ignore or even despise the rest of the world. I read somewhere that among many tribal peoples, the word for human being is also the name of the tribe. Therefore, members of a different tribe are by definition not human beings. It is no coincidence that among many of the head-hunting tribes of the Amazon, killing a fellow tribesman is murder, whereas killing someone else is simply "hunting." That is the way primitive people think.
I guess "primitive" is not theright word. After all, it was less than a century ago the governor of a Western state in this country could publicly suggest the extermination of Indians. After all they were "savages," according to this way of thinking--something less than human.
One comedian said it best. He said historians have recently found the very first treaty the United States government ever signed with the Indians. The treaty states that the Indians can keep their lands "For as long as the river runs clear, as long as the buffalo roam, as long as the grass grows tall, and as long as the mountains stand proud--or ninety days--whichever comes first!"
That is the natural way for human beings to behave. To love their own and to despise the foreigner, the stranger, the ousider. It is the natural way, but it is not the way of those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. God has reached down into our lives. He has loved us with an everlasting love--even though we are unworthy. And He has called us to share that love with others. And those "others" are not limited to our family, our community, our city, our nation, or even our faith."
I found this article very inspirational. It really works with whats going on in the world today (The War in Iraq). And like I said, it goes both ways. WE as in HUMAN BEINGS, not as AMERICANS, should share our love with everyone regardless of the thin lines that lie in between us...Colored/White, Gay/Straight, Rich/Poor, Disabled or Not, Smart/Stupid, Male/Female, Race, Tenor/Bass (hahaha). Really guys..Dave Matthews put it plainly "All you need is..what you want is..all you need is love." and Black Eyed Peas questioned it "Where is the love?" I guess this is just one of my thoughts for the day. More love...less hate. Please?
Take care and God bless.
"Without love of God, love of neighbor is unlikely. Without God, why should I love my neighbor? Have you noticed that, as our culture has become more secular, we have drawn more and more into ourselves? Me, myself, and I--those are the important words in many people's vocabulary today. And why not--if there is no God? Why not look out for No. 1? That's what happens when faith wanes.
The most natural thing in the world is for us to love ourselves and those who are an extension of ourselves--our family, or clan, or tribe--and to ignore or even despise the rest of the world. I read somewhere that among many tribal peoples, the word for human being is also the name of the tribe. Therefore, members of a different tribe are by definition not human beings. It is no coincidence that among many of the head-hunting tribes of the Amazon, killing a fellow tribesman is murder, whereas killing someone else is simply "hunting." That is the way primitive people think.
I guess "primitive" is not theright word. After all, it was less than a century ago the governor of a Western state in this country could publicly suggest the extermination of Indians. After all they were "savages," according to this way of thinking--something less than human.
One comedian said it best. He said historians have recently found the very first treaty the United States government ever signed with the Indians. The treaty states that the Indians can keep their lands "For as long as the river runs clear, as long as the buffalo roam, as long as the grass grows tall, and as long as the mountains stand proud--or ninety days--whichever comes first!"
That is the natural way for human beings to behave. To love their own and to despise the foreigner, the stranger, the ousider. It is the natural way, but it is not the way of those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. God has reached down into our lives. He has loved us with an everlasting love--even though we are unworthy. And He has called us to share that love with others. And those "others" are not limited to our family, our community, our city, our nation, or even our faith."
I found this article very inspirational. It really works with whats going on in the world today (The War in Iraq). And like I said, it goes both ways. WE as in HUMAN BEINGS, not as AMERICANS, should share our love with everyone regardless of the thin lines that lie in between us...Colored/White, Gay/Straight, Rich/Poor, Disabled or Not, Smart/Stupid, Male/Female, Race, Tenor/Bass (hahaha). Really guys..Dave Matthews put it plainly "All you need is..what you want is..all you need is love." and Black Eyed Peas questioned it "Where is the love?" I guess this is just one of my thoughts for the day. More love...less hate. Please?
Take care and God bless.