Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Dear God,

For the most part I believe in the best in people. I believe we are capable of rising to the occasion to being our best. I believe being our best is what you desire for our lives.

But the truth is we are also capable of the worst and everything in between. We can lower ourselves to the basement, the lowest level. We can adopt an attitude that we have the best coming to us while we treat people the worst. In such a case we act from the bottom rather than the top. It's a lot like a dirty card game. We want everyone else to play fairly while we slip cards from the bottom of the deck.

I've often wondered why certain people think the world owes them something. Now for those who have faced unbelievable hardship, I can understand how and why such persons can have a distorted view of life. Why wouldn't they? However, such thinking will never lead to peace, justice, hope or compassion. In fact persons who've faced untold pain will never have enough because all they get "by hook and by crook" will never satisfy the aching hunger.

But for those for whom life has treated them well, I really can't understand the sense of entitlement. Life is not just about soothing our own soul. Don't we have a responsibility to each other? Don't we owe each other more?

I simply don't understand the concept of entitlement. If we all operate this way, then one day we will simply fight to the end and whoever is left will be left standing alone. And then with whom will we share our "good" news?

O God,
the world
is for
all of us,
not just
for some
of us.
Help us
look beyond
our own skin
to see
our brother,
our sister.
Teach us
the way
of compassion,
of grace
and mercy.
Etch in
our minds
the way
of Christ.

Love, Andrea