Greatest Gifts

13 Sep

“Greatest gifts of all:  Love that conquers hate.  Peace that rises triumphant over war.  Justice that proves more powerful than greed.”  ~ Fred Rogers

This past weekend, we commemorated the terrorist acts that took the lives of a few thousand people on September 11, 2001.  When that happened, it seemed as if a pall of sadness, suspicion, and hate settled over our country.  Nothing has been the same since that day.  It seems that for every step forward that we take, we end up taking two steps backward.

We need to rethink what we are doing.  We fight violence with violence.  All that does is create more discord and violence.  We need to begin acting like a people of love, mercy, and justice once again.  I’m not saying that we should ignore what is going on in the world or that we should not do our best to rid the world of certain evils.  What I am saying is that we go no further than that.

Too many times, when people decide that they are going to fight for a cause, they go too far.  They are not in it to fight something wrong, they are in it to crush the oppressor and to seek vengeance.  Seeking that is more than we should do.  Seeking that puts us in the same place as the people we fight.  We do not like to hear it; but, we have to embody the values and virtues of Christ.

You want to get rid of hate?  Love.  You want an end to war?  Seek peace instead of bloodshed.  You want people to feel valued?  Be a person of justice.  Love, peace, and justice can go a long way to healing our world and all the people who dwell therein.  It might not be popular to say or to attempt but it is the only sure remedy.

FAITH ACTION:  Counteract the hate and discord of the world today by doing your best to be a person of love, peace, and justice.