“Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe, say, or do.”
*I have seen this quote in several places but do not know the original source.
When I am driving I often listen to the news at the top and bottom of the hour but mainly so I can catch the traffic and weather report which on WSB Radio provides “every six minutes.” One day this past week I tuned in just in time to hear the well-known talk show host excitedly proclaiming that one of our top national leaders was “cramming it down their throats one more time.”
When did this kind of behavior become acceptable and commendable? I have never found it to be helpful to “cram something down another person’s throat.” It might momentarily make the person feel like they have accomplished something but in the long run this “in your face” attitude does not produce positive results. It creates, or extends, a scenario of winners and losers. And when that happen, everyone loses.
I am of the opinion that a good deal is not when I win and you lose. Of course, there are times and situations when one person comes out ahead but I don’t think the goal is to conquer or defeat the other. “All for one and one for all” is best known as the motto of the title characters in the book The Three Musketeers, by the nineteenth-century French author Alexandre Dumas. Whenever possible we should endeavor to find ways where everyone receives benefit from our actions and decisions.
Is this a foolish and naïve attitude? Maybe, but I will go with it instead of the disposition that I must excel and you must fail.
As you well know we are in an election year and the campaign ads are plentiful and many demonstrate the underside of humanity. I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I have always voted for who/what I think is best and both parties have often received my vote- and sometimes neither of them. I try to understand the issues and discern what seems best. Sometimes I get it right and sometimes I don’t.
Name calling and one-upmanship are common practices in politics, religion, business, and life in general. In my opinion these practices do not promote healthy relationships or positive results. One current political advertisement suggests that one candidate is no bad that he “gives pigs a bad name.”
I am appalled at how often I hear people called losers, morons, idiots, and other names intended to make them “less than” someone else. I do not understand why it seems necessary to demonize or demean another person regardless of their political, religious, social, or intellectual stance.
We have had a problem growing grass in our backyard. My wife has created beautiful flowers beds but we cannot seem to find an answer to our water problem. Currently we are engaged in yet another attempt to correct this situation. We do not always see eye to eye but that does not mean we attack each other because we have different opinions about the solution.
I recently had surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. A neighbor had the same kind of surgery on the same day as mine. Both of us are carrying our arm in a sling but he has less time than I to support his arm in this manner. I was instructed not to drive as long as I was wearing the sling. He was told he could drive as soon as he quit taking pain medication- which was just a couple of days. Another friend injured his rotator cuff but his doctor said it could be corrected with physical therapy and would not require surgery.
Does one of these doctors know what they are doing and the others are quacks and don’t have a clue? Did one physician get his degree and training from a reputable institution and the others probably went to some second-rate school or bought their degree online? No! Because of the different degree and nature of the injuries, age, and other factors each doctor came to a different decision to address the problem.
Words hurt and words heal. Our attitude can do much good or harm. We can view others as our enemies or friends. Our actions are constructive or destructive. We can love or hate. The choice is ours.
Jamie Jenkins
When someone does you wrong do you get over it or do you get even? The tendency when you are offended or assaulted is to strike back. Retaliate.
Justification for retaliation is found in the concept of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” This is a part of Mosaic Law used in the justice system of the ancient Israelites. The principle of jus talionis or lex talionis is that the punishment must fit the crime and there should be a just penalty for evil actions. Justice should be equitable; excessive harshness and excessive leniency should be avoided.
It has been suggested that if everyone practiced “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” the result would be a world of blind and toothless people.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness…. The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy, instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Is there a better way? Perhaps the law of reciprocity offers an acceptable alternative to the law of retaliation. The law of reciprocity means that when someone does something nice for you, you do something nice for them in return. The act of returning a kind gesture or favor basically goes without saying. Unfortunately the all too often mindset is that when someone does something harsh or unkind, we in turn act in like manner.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus counters the teaching of personal retaliation: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, “Do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:38–42).
These verses may be the most difficult verses in the Bible.
On another occasion Jesus taught that the practice of retaliation would not provide any positive results. Instead, he said “all who draw the sword will die by the sword.”
The Apostle Paul instructed the Christians of his day in this manner: “ Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even… if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.” (Romans 12:17-21, The Message)
“Evil is powerful, but good is more powerful. In fact, evil is so powerful that only good has the power to overcome evil. Darkness can be driven away only by light” (Jay E. Adams, How to Overcome Evil). I think Jesus would agree- and so do I.
Jamie Jenkins
Last week I write about my recent visit to Cuba and my plans to return in October (you are welcome to join me). I spoke of the enjoyment of the experience and mentioned a few of the places we visited.
I could expand on the sites and people. There is much that could be said about the economic condition of the island nation just 90 miles from the United States. The pros and cons of the U.S. embargo could easily provide fodder for a long political discussion. I could compare and contrast the economies and governments of the two countries.
Instead, I want to share something which spoke to me about poverty and wealth and transcends the understanding of these two particular cultures.
On Sunday morning group leaders on the ship provided worship experiences for both Protestants and Catholics. Although attendance was voluntary, I am glad that I went. While Father Damien celebrated mass with the Catholics on board the ship, Rev. Bob Brown, one of the Protestant ministers, led a worship service in which we were introduced to a new song.
Cuando el Pobre (When the Poor Ones) is a Latin American hymn from 1971 written by J. A. Olivar and Miguel Manzano. The English translation is by George Lockwood.
The hymn is a meditation on Matthew 25: 31-46, the parable of the great judgment, focusing on verses 34-36: “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me’” (NIV).
The United Methodist Hymnal editor Carlton Young notes: “The central teaching (of the hymn) is the classic liberation motif that God in Christ is seen and experienced in the plight of the rejected of society: the homeless, the poor, and the parentless. In life’s journey, we are closer to God when we love them and share from our abundance of food, clothing, and shelter. Those who choose the alternative—greed, hate, and war—will ‘go away into eternal punishment’” (Matthew 25:46a).
CUANDO EL POBRE (UMH #434)
When the poor ones who have nothing share with strangers,
When the thirsty water give unto us all,
When the crippled in their weakness strengthen others,
[Refrain]
Then we know that God still goes that road with us,
Then we know that God still goes that road with us.
When at last all those who suffer find their comfort,
When they hope though even hope seems hopelessness,
When we love though hate at times seems all around us,
[Refrain]
Then we know that God still goes that road with us,
Then we know that God still goes that road with us.
When our joy fills up our cup to overflowing,
When our lips can speak no words other than true,
When we know that love for simple things is better,
[Refrain]
Then we know that God still goes that road with us,
Then we know that God still goes that road with us.
When our homes are filled with goodness in abundance,
When we learn how to make peace instead of war,
When each stranger that we meet is called a neighbor,
[Refrain]
Then we know that God still goes that road with us,
Then we know that God still goes that road with us.
Jamie Jenkins
thoughts for thursday 