Where is the love?

I am sure that these ramblings will spark a fierce debate and several unkind and unwarranted comments if I do not begin with a disclaimer. The following is simply my personal belief statement, something I live by. I am not asking you to change your ways, or to conform to what I think is a higher life path, and whether or not you choose to listen or ignore the following is on you. I welcome friendly and lighthearted discussion meant to create a more open-minded atmosphere and instigate cordial conversation. If you cannot keep your comments to a courteous and considerate tone, then you are welcome to stop reading now.

We each walk a different path in life. It is impossible to predict what personal obstacles someone has overcome in their time here on Earth. I could easily make some assumptions about a person from the way someone talks, what they choose to wear, what they put into their body, what they put onto their body, what their education level is, etc., but those assumptions would likely be stereotyped, vastly unkind and most importantly, wrong.

Each day I am becoming increasingly more distressed by the way that we treat one another, the things we say about different groups and classifications of people, and the apathy that is beginning to permeate every thicket of society. Several political discussions and hot topics in particular have led me to wonder, where is the love? Where is the concern?

Rather than trying to get on the same level as someone and truly understand their circumstance, we make a snap judgment and categorize them, we lump them into a societal stereotype that has no sound foundation. We look at the cover of the book, decide it is worth nothing, and toss it aside- out of sight out of mind. Everyday we overlook the suffering of others simply because we have decided that their circumstance is their own doing, and is what they deserve.

For example, we see a young boy who wants to graduate high school and pursue additional accolades, but he is failing all of his classes. Some will say that if that young boy wanted to do good in school and pursue higher education, then surely he would just work harder, which would get him better grades and then he could get into the college of his choice. If he can't afford it, then he should just work extra hard and perhaps then he could get an academic scholarship, he could get a job and take out loans, etc. We assume that because we have done something similar it should be just as easy for that young fellow to take the same path. We assume that everyone has had the same ideal circumstances that we have and that everyone comes from a family who support his educational pursuits, who make sacrifices for him to attend school, who encourage him to work hard and get good grades.

In this example, we have not bothered to get to know this individual or his personal circumstance, we have reflected our own experiences onto him and assumed that his situation is due to a life of laziness and of his own doing. Perhaps this young boy comes from a single-parent home, as nearly one-third of American children do (according to the 2010 US Census).  Perhaps this boys Mother has three jobs, and is doing her best to support her family, but because of this need is never home. Perhaps the responsibility of being the parent has fallen on this young mans shoulders, and instead of doing his homework every night, he is doing his best just to feed, bathe, protect and care for his siblings. Perhaps he has a learning disability that makes school especially difficult. Perhaps he is so bullied and demeaned at home or at school that he simply cannot concentrate or has convinced himself that he is worthless and will never achieve anything meaningful.

The skeptics reading this are at this point thinking, “Oh, please. The majority of people in this situation certainly do not have these kinds of odds stacked against them. You have presented me with an example of such an extremity, that of course I agree with THIS particular example, but what you are saying is just one scenario. There are dozens of other possibilities, and we cannot be certain that this is what is occurring. It could just as possibly be that he does not do his homework, and instead plays video games, and therefor fails his classes. If he goes on from here to get a $8 job at McDonalds and works till his last day on Earth over a fry vat, that is not my problem.”

There are so many other examples out there of suffering, many much worse and degrading than the example I posed. From a global perspective, even the most impoverished American has a life much more enriching and meaningful than some of our Brothers and Sisters living in third world countries. I am not arguing that we make political social reform movements, wage wars to end tyranny, suffer the rich to distribute their wealth more equally amongst their friends, neighbors and employees, etc. I am simply asking that we all start thinking a little bit more on what is going on around us, the changes that are happening in our society, the apathy that is corroding our hearts and minds and ask ourselves why we do not seem to care that someone else is in pain, and even more so, why we feel so little responsibility in changing that?

I do not care what choices someone has made to put them in a pitiful position. I do not care if they chose a life of poor decisions and sad stories. What I care about is what I can do to help. I am not going to look down upon them or turn a blind eye. Neither would my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I am a Christian. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The last, and most dear to my heart ,of my religion's Articles of Faith states:

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men...”

I want to reiderate:

It does not state doing good to all men who have worked hard.

It does not state doing good to all men who believe the same things you do.

It does not state doing good to all men who are good themselves.

It does not state doing good to all men who deserve it.

It simply says do good to ALL MEN. We do not get to pick and choose. We should have concern and compassion for all men. We should work hard to lift each other and support each other in our burdens, even when someone brings the sorrow upon themselves.

Stop worrying about what someone has done, what they are doing, etc. and worry about yourself and what you should be doing to help. Stop being selfish and greedy, if you have more than you need, then work to give back. Stop judging one another and start loving. Support each other- as crazy as that sounds.

In my religion we believe that we all lived together for an eternity before coming here to Earth. I think about that a lot. I look at strangers in my path and wonder, if it is possible, that we were near and dear to each other in the life before this mortal realm. In my religion we also believe that after this life we will return to that same eternity from whence we came, and that the veil that has allowed us to forget our former existence will be lifted, and all of those memories, in addition to the new ones we have made in this life, will be available to us once more. I often wonder which dear friends of mine are clad as strangers in this world, and what we will think of one another once we return home to our Heavenly Father. Will we be able to look at one another without shame, and to feel joy that we, without knowing our dearness to one another, were still able to act as a friend would? Or will our hearts be consumed with regrets that we did not take a moment to reach out in brotherly kindness, without malice or judgment?

“Because I have been given much, I too must give. Because of they great bounty Lord each day I live. I shall divide my gifts from thee, with every Brother that I see, who has the need of help from me.”

In this season where we either reflect on Christ, or where we allow ourselves to be clouded with selfishness and want, I hope that we can choose Christ, and live as he does. I hope that we can work harder to give without question or concern. I hope that we can stop worrying, unlike the workers in the bible parable “The Parable of the Workers,” that our brethren who have not been working as long or hard or as valiant as we have, can still receive some of the same amenities and privileges that we have earned. Life is not about fairness, if that was the lesson you think we were sent here to learn, you are gravely mistaken. There is nothing fair about the life our Lord and Savior lived. He lived a perfect life and sacrificed everything for you and for me. The least we can do is try our best to share our bounty with those less deserving of it, because in the end, that is what he did for you and me. We are infinitely less deserving of his sacrifice, of his love and of his offering. Yet every day he extends his hand to us, lifts us from our burdens, and loves us.

If I am truly striving to be his disciple, to live my religion, then I too must do the same, without question or judgment, and I hope that you will join me in doing the same.