with
I believe that, most of the time, we are not with each other and with other things in this world in the way God intended.
It is easy to identify this in others. Some see homosexual people and say that is not how God intended people to be with each other. Yet these people usually fail to see that the way they themselves are with others is not as God intended it either. Even the way these people are with homosexual people is not as God intended, because they are with them in an adversarial, (and actively or passively) malicious way.
Many of us are not with things (money, possessions) in the way God intended us to be. We incorporate things into our identity as if they make us more important or more desirable or more valuable. We want to possess, to own, to master, and to take things. We contemplate and meditate on things and how we can get things and how our lives will be made better with things. This way of being with things is surely not how God intended.
We have lost our way when people are "them" and "theirs" and things are "me" and "mine". We are in danger when we are with people as objects for our use and with things as subjects for our affection.
Jesus said that we are to love our neighbors and our enemies. I always loved the story of the "enemy" who was a neighbor because it removes every qualification we can imagine for not being with another person in a loving way. We need to be with others in ways that will and work for their good; even if they think of themselves as our enemy, and even at our own expense. It is only when we show love to our enemies as our neighbors that our enemies might become our friends—or at the very least that we might be able to see our enemies as our neighbors.
For contemplation: How am I with those who are close to me? How am I with people who are not like me? How am I with people I do not know (i.e., people I interact with in stores, at work, etc.)? How does God intend for me to be with them?
It is easy to identify this in others. Some see homosexual people and say that is not how God intended people to be with each other. Yet these people usually fail to see that the way they themselves are with others is not as God intended it either. Even the way these people are with homosexual people is not as God intended, because they are with them in an adversarial, (and actively or passively) malicious way.
Many of us are not with things (money, possessions) in the way God intended us to be. We incorporate things into our identity as if they make us more important or more desirable or more valuable. We want to possess, to own, to master, and to take things. We contemplate and meditate on things and how we can get things and how our lives will be made better with things. This way of being with things is surely not how God intended.
We have lost our way when people are "them" and "theirs" and things are "me" and "mine". We are in danger when we are with people as objects for our use and with things as subjects for our affection.
Jesus said that we are to love our neighbors and our enemies. I always loved the story of the "enemy" who was a neighbor because it removes every qualification we can imagine for not being with another person in a loving way. We need to be with others in ways that will and work for their good; even if they think of themselves as our enemy, and even at our own expense. It is only when we show love to our enemies as our neighbors that our enemies might become our friends—or at the very least that we might be able to see our enemies as our neighbors.
For contemplation: How am I with those who are close to me? How am I with people who are not like me? How am I with people I do not know (i.e., people I interact with in stores, at work, etc.)? How does God intend for me to be with them?
posted by joel at 4:09 AM
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