In North America, we have a society that in general has more possessions and is richer than billions of citizens in the world at large…and for many the more they have the more afraid they become of losing it. And so, we sit and wonder if just a little more would finally be enough to make us happy.
We live in a time and place where pornography has infiltrated every corner of society…access to airbrushed beauty is normal and so are skyrocketing rates of emptiness and loneliness. And so, we hire counselors for our troubled children who have seen far more than they know how to process, wondering if the hard work necessary for a real relationship would be worth it for us.
In North America, we have a version of Christianity that preaches comfort and prosperity in the name of a homeless refugee who was stripped naked and nailed to a rough wooden cross…that boldly preaches faith but practice, lives life in fear of the outsider. Is it any wonder that we sit and wonder if those smiling preachers in a thousand dollar suits ever knew who Jesus was…
We live in a culture consumed by a thirst for pleasure, where easy access to the latest and greatest in slick entertainment is normal…and so are the ever climbing rates of suicide. And so, we stand in line to watch another billion dollar sequel.
Some say there is no answer…there is no truth…nowhere to turn. Still, others say that the enemy is immigrant but what if the enemy is far closer?
What if the enemy is hard at work in our own pride and selfish desire?
If we can convince ourselves that we are always right, we will never be at fault. Which obviously means the problem must be with that group of others…you got it, those ones with different skin colors. And so we stare in horror as the rate of hate/race crimes climbs ever higher. (Up 60–70 % in Canada according to Macleans Magazine.)
Some say the answer is in politics…but let’s be honest, every politician will say whatever it takes to gain power…and political power can’t tame that insatiable inner hunger…that whirlpool of desire sucking us ever closer to the edge of anger.
The rage of dissatisfaction that comes when we find we have exchanged the peace in our soul for something will fade away or crumble to dust with the passing of time.
Gurus and teachers will say there is wisdom in some system of managing behavior. “We’re all the same, my sisters and brothers…we made the problem, so let’s work together to make it better.” But the reality remains, with a little study we can see that human systems only have a few things similar. A newly painted building, a sign proclaiming righteousness, but there in the inner sanctum of the temple lie board meetings in turmoil, seething with petty jealousy and power politics. Nine times out of ten that highly exalted teacher is simply the one who has best learned how to hide his hypocrisy and failure.
Nice words are nice to listen too but only the truth can set us free.
What if there is something better?
What there is actually something true?
How can we know? Could the truth be seen because it works in everyday living?
What if spiritual maturity is seen, not in how we treat those who agree with us, but in how we treat those who don’t?
What if humility really is the beginning of learning?
What if we need to surrender our pride and our self-centered desire to something greater?
What if the greatest commandments were to love God and to love your neighbor?
What if we actually practiced this teaching?
Would we live at peace with ourselves and each other?
Would we be willing to fight for the life of our suicidal community member?
Would our relationships find healing as we come to consider the other party to be better than ourselves?
Would this reality be better than any fantasy created by Hollywood or the pornography industry?
What if the truth is out there?
What if we need to stop our self-centered boasting, our quest for self-validation and start really searching?
What if the day we are finally ready to give up everything for truth is the day we will find that piece we’ve always been missing?
What do you think?