ADMIT IT, YOU BELIEVE IN GOD AND IT SHOWS
Yawheh, Elohim, Allah, Father, Mother, The Universe, Science, however you choose to refer to the order on which our world operates, this is your God. And the more you know about your God, the easier it will be to understand and integrate all the crosses into your life. And we all, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, Hindu, even Atheists, we all have a God. The only question is what does your God teach?
Does your God teach or demonstrate that people need to be coerced, threatened or bribed, into submission? Then so will you.
Does your God teach that survival is dependent on grabbing your “piece of the pie”? Then that will be your focus.
Does your God treat “infidels” and “ignoramuses” with anything less than empathy and love? Then sooner or later you will offer yourself, as his servant, to bring “justice” to those who “deserve it”.
On the other hand, if your God says that love for all “makes the world go ’round”, then you will be drawn to being altruistic.
If your God is omnipotent, then you will learn to trust in His abundance.
If your God guarantees each person the freedom, for better or for worse, to choose his own way, then you too will fight to preserve freedom of choice.
Your opinion about what I talk about in this blog is going to be based, not so much on the eloquence or persuasiveness of my arguments, but rather on how well these ideas resonate with your own universal paradigm, you view of your God.
WHAT DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE?
This will really become apparent when “push comes to shove”, when you feel your comfort or very survival is at stake. For instance, many of us give lip service to the notion of altruism, to putting others first, just as long as we can see how doing so serves to enhance our own personal situation. But just as soon as we start to feel a little pain, as soon as our own security appears to be threatened, we revert to the common ego-centric take-care-of-number-one behavior patterns with which we are so familiar. At a recent seminar I attended, the presenter polled the audience as to how many would steal to feed their children. I estimated that at least 90% of the audience raised their hands in affirmation. Perhaps it could be argued that in so doing one is putting themselves at risk for their children. Maybe so. So, let me ask the question another way. How many of you would steal to feed yourselves?
NO ONE SAID IT WOULD BE EASY
In his book To End All Wars, Ernest Gordon recounts the story of his imprisonment by the Japanese during WWII. This powerful account, reenacted in the movie with the same name staring Kiefer Sutherland, dramatically illustrates the power of taking altruism “all the way”. Brought to the brink of death by a nasty dog-eat-dog environment were the scarce and limited life sustaining resources like food are continually fought over and only the “fittest” have any chance of survival, Ernest is tenderly nursed back to health by Dusty, who nearly loses his own life for want of the personal nutrition he sacrifices in order to comfort his dying patient. This one act starts a chain reaction that transforms the character of the whole camp. One by one the inmates start to care for each other, eventually going so far as to establish an in-camp hospital, “university”, and orchestra. By no means a Pollyannish and-they-all-lived-happily-ever-after account, this true story also forcefully chronicles how threatening altruism can be to those unable to grasp its power.
So, who is your God? How well do you really know Him/Her? Do you follow the God you claim, or do you claim one and follow another?
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Dr. Lon Peckham provides comprehensive and wholistic dental care in Priest River, Idaho. He is a consultant certified in Lead Management and Choice Theory, Advanced Dental Implantology, as a Lifestyle Health Facilitator, and is currently pursuing certification by the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine. He helps Patients and Dentists successfully incorporate whole-health into their lives and practices.