I think I take after my mother in that I end up being the mediator in a lot of disagreement situations in my life, and I view the world and all its social problems in that mediator way, too. One of my favorite bloggers,
BachelorGirl has a very hot topic up for discussion today, "Childfree by Choice" and boy, is it generating a lot of conversation!
The comments on her site have all been respectful so far, so my title today is not in relation to that, but I was thinking about the bigger picture that she's discussing - the country's view of women (or men) who choose not to have children and how that's different from the traditional way of thinking and how that lifestyle relates to taking time off from work and all of that - and I got to thinking about how I think about situations like that.
My answer to a lot of social problems is that people need to follow 2 simple rules:
1. Be kind to others
2. Be open-minded
How simple is that? And, if you want to get all religious-y with me, isn't that what Jesus' main message was about? Love others and accept everybody? Hello?
I think his message gets distorted sometimes. I mean, the whole time, he was confusing his apostles by hanging out with prostitutes and forgiving tax-collectors. The "Good Samaritan" parable is another example. He constantly showed love and mercy to those that the Jews would usually have thought to be "unclean" or bad or beneath their notice or to those that don't seem to "deserve" Jesus' love.
I think in some instances, people forget that part of Jesus' message. There ends up being confusion over whether to condemn someone for their lifestyle and choices or open your arms to them, and, unfortunately, a lot of times the arms are most-definitely not open. And, I think that's really sad. You almost have to go against current organized religious beliefs to follow those original ideas. How weird is that?
There's someone that I really admire that has done that more than once in her life (sometimes at more risk to her safety than her family would've liked). My sister, Steff, in my opinion, truly embodies the ideals that Jesus was trying to teach. She is completely open-minded and accepting to people of all walks of life and of all lifestyles. She shares her love completely indiscriminately, with no judgment or filter. I so admire that. As open-minded as I like to think of myself, I don't think I have been as brave as she has, and I'm not talking about the dangerous stuff - I'm talking about the guts it takes to befriend and love someone who has a totally different belief system or life experience than you. To welcome them and talk with them and figure out a way to relate to them. THAT's courage!
Have a great weekend, Everybody! Love to family!