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Page 1 of 2 It’s not very often that I meet other ministers from other churches and religions. Funny thing; we seem to work the same hours and days. This last week I’ve had the opportunity to meet and even visit with two. It was an enriching and promising experience. Any time two different religions come together with mutual appreciation it is cause to celebrate. Hey; any time two different denominations or even two different branches of the same denomination come together it is an occasion to celebrate.
I remember an occasion after the September 11th attack on the N.Y. Trade Centre; a multi religious prayer gathering was organized. It was planned to include all major religions and denominations as a symbol of solidarity for peace. Sadly, one of the major denominations of Christianity was not represented because both its divided bodies were invited. Neither body would accept the invitation because the other faction was invited. It seemed to me a very powerful example of the illogic behind the violence embracing so much of the world today. Before peace can be attained we must be able to find acceptance for others just the way they are, before we can accept others the way they are we must be able to accept ourselves as good enough without needing to do anything. Unfortunately very few of us can accept that others don’t need to change, that they are good enough just the way they are. That is because few of us truly have accepted that God is perfect without our help. Almost all of us seem to believe we need to help God to fix the world or at least the people of the world, because it’s just common sense to recognize all the things that aren’t working. Common sense is a dangerous argument for changing others. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, “Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.” Our ‘prejudices’ will never improve the world; and we don’t need to fix anyone except ourselves. If this is true then what remains of the purpose of our actions, our efforts to help others? What would be the purpose for becoming a doctor or a missionary or expounding a religious doctrine? What would be the purpose of helping anyone? To help ourselves! We can only see our feelings; our pain, our fear, our anger in our relationships, principally to others. It is always our emotions that reveal the beliefs and ideas that keep us from God, or as the great teacher Jesus said, “the father within.” If we of service could truly and honestly look at why we do the work we do, we would unanimously have to admit it is because of what we get that we give. It is the payoffs.
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