Our local paper carries a syndicated column by a man who cares passionately about his fellow human beings, Andrew Greeley. This week he laments, "Bigotry never goes away."
To bring a spiritual viewpoint to this issue, spiritual needs defining. For me, spiritual means finding out what God as infinite good knows about whatever the problem is. This disease of the soul called bigotry is, well, it's hate, though thinly disguised as prejudice, intolerance, racism. The reason hate is a problem, is because it kills. It starts by killing joy and hope, dignity and self-worth. If not halted, it kills people.
There is an antidote to bigotry, a cure for the disease. It's called the Golden Rule, and every major religion espouses this "Treat others as you would like to be treated, and do it first" in some form. Christianity posts it in Christ Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount --a nutshell summary of his teachings (Matthew chapters 5-7).
Hate is nothing new. Jesus ran into it all the time, but he didn’t buy into it. His life-purpose was to teach people about a God of Love, a God of Truth, a God of Life. This Sermon shows what is natural to man as God knows us, shows an alternative to inward-turning.
Jesus advised on a personal level, explaining genuine Christianity to individuals. Be merciful, he said. Be a peacemaker. Thirst after God and your relationship to this infinite Love who created you. Don’t judge others, he warned, because frankly you are not qualified – you wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny yourself. And - he walked his talk.
His words invite brotherhood – caring about humanity enough to find solutions that include the needs of those struggling for a better life.
His words invite spiritual humility, that mental strength that expects and finds God's hand in human affairs, turning things around for the better.
His words invite us to be God-centered, good-centered, instead of self-centered.
To bring a spiritual viewpoint to this issue, spiritual needs defining. For me, spiritual means finding out what God as infinite good knows about whatever the problem is. This disease of the soul called bigotry is, well, it's hate, though thinly disguised as prejudice, intolerance, racism. The reason hate is a problem, is because it kills. It starts by killing joy and hope, dignity and self-worth. If not halted, it kills people.
There is an antidote to bigotry, a cure for the disease. It's called the Golden Rule, and every major religion espouses this "Treat others as you would like to be treated, and do it first" in some form. Christianity posts it in Christ Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount --a nutshell summary of his teachings (Matthew chapters 5-7).
Hate is nothing new. Jesus ran into it all the time, but he didn’t buy into it. His life-purpose was to teach people about a God of Love, a God of Truth, a God of Life. This Sermon shows what is natural to man as God knows us, shows an alternative to inward-turning.
Jesus advised on a personal level, explaining genuine Christianity to individuals. Be merciful, he said. Be a peacemaker. Thirst after God and your relationship to this infinite Love who created you. Don’t judge others, he warned, because frankly you are not qualified – you wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny yourself. And - he walked his talk.
His words invite brotherhood – caring about humanity enough to find solutions that include the needs of those struggling for a better life.
His words invite spiritual humility, that mental strength that expects and finds God's hand in human affairs, turning things around for the better.
His words invite us to be God-centered, good-centered, instead of self-centered.
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