“Selfishness is the most destructive force in all the cosmos, and hate is only its symptom.” Bishop Michael Curry, Love Is The Way
As I write this Congress is debating, or should I say arguing about President Biden’s incentive bill to offset some of the most serious problems of the pandemic – lost jobs, lost income, homelessness, and food insecurity. They can help us get beyond this mountain of problems and show us how to care for our fellow Americans by providing for those who need it most without worrying about the response of their political party.
How can we influence the decisions Congress makes?
How can we make a difference ourselves?
We Can Think Differently –
None of us will ever forget that awful day, January 6th, 2021 when some followers of President Trump stormed the US capital in an attempt to prevent the counting of the Electoral College ballots to officially elect Joseph R. Biden as President of the United States.
Two weeks later my pastor preached a sermon on the need for all of us to begin thinking WE instead of US and THEM. Why? Because the words we use emphasize the divide between us and influence the way we think. How can we expect others to do that if we can’t do it ourselves?
We Can Pray Differently –
Rev. Gordon Cosby, the late founder and pastor of The Church of the Saviour in Washington, D.C. always urged us to “pray the newspapers.” That is a helpful place to begin along with praying for the friends, neighbors and relatives we know who think differently than we do.
For some of us routinely writing our prayers in a journal is a reinforcing exercise that allows us to “see what we think.” Others may find visual reminders like a WE not US and THEM note on our bathroom mirrors helpful. Whatever it takes, recognizing the humanity in others is an important step in healing the divides between us, in healing our nation
We Can Give Differently –
For each of us giving differently will be an individualized exercise. Until the pandemic is behind us, It may mean giving more to address the problems of – lost jobs, lost income, homelessness, and food insecurity. It may mean spending less on ourselves so we can give more to help individuals we know who are hurting, as well as making routine donations to food banks. Certainly, realizing that this could be US instead of THEM can help us focus on WE.
In his remarkable book Love Is The Way, Bishop Curry didn’t mince words when he said that “Selfishness is the most destructive force in all the cosmos.” Learning to think WE instead of US and THEM can be a hugely significant step in eliminating that force called “Selfishness.” How will you begin to make that shift?
Blessings on your efforts to think differently, pray differently, and give differently,
Judy Osgood
February 1, 2021