It is written in the Christian Bible that the Devil once approached Christ in an attempt to persuade Christ to choose a path that would have served only the self interest of the Lord. Christ had been weakened and was severely famished after walking through his wilderness for forty days. The Devil tried to persuade Him that Christ should think of only himself and that the rewards for these selfish thoughts would be great. He would not need to suffer the consequences of the action of humans that were bound to forsake Him. There was no need for Him to go hungry and He would still be given power upon the nations of the world if he took the advice presented by the Devil. Christ rebuked the Devil’s claims for His mindset was about the choices He made not only effected Him but His choices had consequences for every single person. He thought of society and how the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the One. (Luke: Chapter 4: The Temptation of Jesus)This was the lesson taught today in service and I took the afternoon to reflect more on it. There is a realization in me that every choice we make doesn’t just concern us as individuals. Every individual choice has a consequences that sends a ripple effect outward from us. In the “Gospel of Choice” I talk about how I feel that each of us in connected. I am connected as much to a person in India as I am connected to my own mother. Therefore every decision I make in my own life might somehow manage to influence the complete stranger that is far more connected to me than I realize. So now is the time to start thinking how my own actions might help or damage those around me. I believe when a person starts thinking this way it gives them a sense of great responsibility and therefore are more likely to make the right decisions.
I think back to a time where my only desire was to feel numb and I would take whatever pill presented to me to keep the balance of numbness in my mind. I didn’t want to feel anything and I had no desire to allow any type of emotions to stir inside of me. It was during this time that I would have random sex with anyone I might come across. Love was something that was thrown to the side as lust was a safer bet that I wouldn’t get hurt. I enjoyed doing this and I thought only how my own desires needed to be fulfilled. I didn’t care about what other people thought of my actions because I was only concerned with my own dick. I became a person that thought if people treated me as nothing more than a plaything then I might as well do the same thing to all of them. This choice was a result from another person’s choice… a complete stranger that made the decision to take love out of their sexual encounters and treat sex like a contact sport. I now understand that the person who treated me like a simple toy and lacked whatever respect for me did so because at some point someone had done the same thing to them. So to avoid getting hurt again they decided to adapt to those that had hurt them already so they would not feel the pain of rejection and the result of those decisions eventually trickled down to me. I might never fully understand the consequences of my actions upon other people but I do have a sense that there was a ripple effect on the people in my life that I care about and God only knows how it affected those that I don‘t personally know yet still deeply connected too.
Breaking this cycle is tough and it takes so much to start changing our own actions however I truly believe it’s in human nature to constantly improve and better ourselves. That desire to do so is never lost; it might be buried deep down underneath the hopelessness that we begin to collect over the course of our youth but it is never lost. I also believe in order to break any negative cycles in any person’s life it must be approached with small steps. It takes consistency to break bad habits and making small goals to change big cycles will build that consistency. I think if each of us begin to start thinking from the perspective that are choices, decisions, and actions affect those around us we will begin to make better and healthier choices that are build on the foundations of responsibility. The result to this will be a society that is that much better than what is has been before.
I also realize that my good choices have also had a ripple affect. When I made the decision to start caring and loving my mind and body by eating right, working out, and expanding my mind in knowledge and experience; I then saw other people that began to take notice of my choices and that influences their own decision making. I made these choices not just for myself but for those around me. Our own personal decisions really do start spreading out from us and that can be a great and powerful experience. When we start respecting and honoring ourselves and start leading my example then that message spreads and we will start seeing a society built out of respect and love based on choices that are made while thinking of each other as a whole. Imagine a world where some one had made a positive choice that persuaded Adolf Hitler to start caring how his own choices affected those around him. Imagine what we would be like if that one person who had the ability to influence Hitler had done so in a positive light instead of making choices that influenced decisions that eventually lead to the murder of millions of people. Imagine what greatness we still could have seen from people like John Lennon if positive choices and decisions had influenced his would be killer. It is in our history from the events that took place around the life of Christ to the events that are taking place today that we must learn to cherish and value every choice we make because those choices, in turn, leads to a better understanding and respect for humanity as a whole.
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