July 23, 2017

I have been wondering whether there is fundamental religious authority for the self-righteousness I find in myself and which seems so prevalent in our nation these days. I know of no such authority in The Bible or in Quaker writings.  To the contrary, I turn to First Corinthians, chapter 13, which says there will always be faith, hope and love.  I think faith, being profoundly personal and often powerful, can be a foundation for self-righteousness.  Hope, which is also personal, even when it is for the collective good, can lead us to be self-righteous about achieving that for which we hope.  But verse 13 of chapter 13 of First Corinthians holds that love, which is not self-seeking and rejoices in the truth; love, which is patient and kind; love, which does not boast and is not proud – love is greater than faith or hope.

Rest and contribution

It's great to feel rested. But how much better is it to feel rested after accomplishing something or making a contribution to others or to society? 
To be required to rest - to be prevented from working, whether the work is serving one's employer or contributing to one's family, friends, or local or global community; to be prevented from working to preserve and enhance one's physical and mental vigor - would be a curse.  Indeed, to be required to rest would be enervating and ultimately exhausting.  It might even make one crazy.
We develop and preserve our health and mental acuity by vigorously exercising our bodies, our minds and our compassionate spirit - balanced with healthful rest.  And, for most of us, our greatest source of fulfillment and self-worth is not how famous we are, how powerful we think we are, who we know, or how much money we have.  Our truest experience of fulfillment and self-worth comes from regularly experiencing that we contribute to the lives of others.