skip to main |
skip to sidebar
We all know the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Or the other way of saying this is from Leviticus, which states, "That which is hateful to you, do not do to another person." Many of us believe that as long as we do not injure another person on purpose, we have fulfilled that commandment. That is only the surface level of this commandment. It's relatively easy to avoid doing anything to harm another physically. But, how often, do we harm others emotionally? Sometimes, we do it unintentionally, but sometimes we do it intentionally.
Another way of saying this is to love your neighbor as yourself. And your neighbor is everyone you come in contact with. We all have contact, though superficial, with a salesperson, with a mailman, with a bus driver, with a person we may pass on the street, etc, etc, etc. Do we smile at them? Do we say hello to others we may pass on the street? Do we think of other's happiness, or are we consumed with our own, self-centered thoughts and tasks. The sad truth is that most of us think about ourselves, the majority of the time.
You may ask, "Isn't that normal?" Maybe. But we are not fulfilling one of the greatest commandments. Ask yourself, "Have I done anything for someone today, just simply to enrich that person"s life? Have I done anything, without a thought of a reward to myself.
The power of kindness to others is well documented. We know, through studies, that when we perform an act of kindness, we benefit ourselves, and we benefit the other person. Simply put, we feel good when we can help another. This goes even further. Anyone who may witness our act of kindness also benefits emotionally. An act of kindness can be as simple as holding a door open for the next person. And another benefit of doing a kind act is that we are motivated to do more acts of kindness.
The Bible is so clear about this. We are told to help the widow and the orphan. We are told to leave the edges of our fields unharvested, so that the poor may gather food. Let's put that into modern terms. In this country we have an abundance of food. Well, most of us have an abundance of food. But, some children go to bed hungry. That is a crime in such a rich country as ours.
So, what can I do? I can bring some cans of food to the local food pantry. If I can't do that, I can give some of my time to help out at a soup kitchen.
But, here's the most difficult part of that commandment. What if my neighbor hurts me, emotionally? Do I want revenge? That is usually our first reaction. But, if we hold onto that bitterness for too long, we punish ourselves, over and over. We replay the scene in our heads over and over. And we feel all of the hurt feelings over and over. What if we never get an apology? That's even more reason to let go of the hurt. We can learn to forgive the person who hurt us. We forgive to benefit ourselves. The person who has hurt us has gone on with their lives. We need to go on with our lives.
I wish you all the gift of forgiveness.
