September 22, 2024

Life will always take care of itself, whatever we do, and whether we think about it or not.  But if we consciously attend to Life as it unfolds, and do our best to honor and protect it, something magical and very powerful happens.  It's as if the Holy Spirit is telling us,

"If you lovingly take care of Life, Life will lovingly take care of you."

Reality check #23: Moral gerrymandering

I have written about knowing one will need "forgiveness" as a sure sign that one is about to cross a boundary.  The spectrum of importance of legal and ethical boundaries is vast, of course.  

Boundaries - geographic, legal and ethical - are inherent in the practice of some state legislatures in the United States called gerrymandering - "the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency."  When it is used to protect incumbents, Professor Wayne Dawkins describes gerrymandering as "politicians picking their voters instead of voters picking their politicians."

Reality check: Does my decision-making involve moral gerrymandering - the conscious or unconscious changing of my moral boundaries so I can do what I want to do or avoid doing what I don't want to do?  I place a high value on telling the truth - and on doing the right thing.  What should I do - what DO I do - when telling the truth about something unimportant, like whether or not I enjoyed an experience, would needlessly hurt someone's feelings?  Do I move the boundaries of my core values to disenfranchise my conscience?  To excuse or justify serving my interest rather than another person's interest?

How alert am I to the difference between suppressing one value to honor a higher value - especially love - on the one hand, and, on the other, suppressing the higher value for convenience or the avoidance of embarrassment or discomfort?

In the phrase "situation ethics," isn't ethics the more important term, and the loving service of others always the goal?  

 

Having faith in people

Faith in God, however named, will of course always be of great and special importance to those who have that faith.  However, God acts through people - and there are a lot of us.  The condition of the global environment for humanity and all other living things will depend greatly on what people do. 

So, compared to faith in God, I believe that faith in humanity - especially faith in those of our personal family, friends, neighbors and leaders who have not discredited themselves - is of much greater practical importance to the peace, justice and sustainability of societies around the corner and around the world.

It is in our interests to acknowledge, encourage, and honor the capacity for goodness - the holy potential - in every person.

September 8, 2024

I have been reading a collection of early 20th century lectures by psychologist William James. The book is entitled The Varieties of Religious Experience. 

In that book, Professor James talks about individual human depression of the darkest kind. It is very hard to read the first-hand accounts of losing both enjoyment of practically everything in life - the faces, touch and laughter of loves ones, freedom of movement, sunny days, self-expression, learning - and hope that the deprivation will end. It is horrific even to try to imagine such experiences and hopelessness.

One of James's sources is Leo Tolstoy, the Russian writer. Unlike many others, and despite years of avoiding situations that would make suicide easier, Tolstoy did not give up looking for aid in escaping the prison of depression. And eventually he found aid. He found aid in what he called God.

Today, mindful that none of us gets through Life alone, I imagine this message from the Holy Spirit within each of us: 

"Whenever you find yourself in a dark place, a place of depression or seemingly endless grief, and all the ways out seem to be blocked, seek within yourself the will to find aid, to find grace, however small or brief the grace may be.  Persevere, and you will find aid. You will find grace, be it, at first, like drops of rainwater from the ceiling of a dungeon. A crust of bread in the dark. A memory of a special moment. Persevere in seeking grace, and you will find more and more of it, enough to free you.  Each time you find grace - indeed, each time you look for it - I will be close by."