Kindness is the Only Way of the Lord!
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Doing The
Work of the Lord!
By
Francis William Bessler
Laramie, Wyoming
10/3/2015
In my earlier days, I was taught that every Christian should go about life "doing the work of the Lord." My parish pastor - Father Carroll - referred to a tale in the gospel that told me that doing the work of the Lord was like conducting my life like a "good Samaritan." That was essentially to help someone in need if I were to pass by them and see they were in need. If I were to stop and help someone in need, then I would be doing it for the Lord - as if the Lord was the one I was helping.
I think that was a good way to put helping someone in need - to do it because I would be doing it for the Lord; but I have long been beyond that. I think that doing something nice or charitable because I am "doing it for the Lord" somewhat misses why I should be doing something charitable. I don't believe "the Lord" should have anything to do with my being charitable. When I do something to please someone outside of a person for whom I am caring, I do believe I miss the entire point of caring for another person. I should not be caring for another person "to please Jesus," but rather to act like that person "is Jesus." I think that is what Jesus intended to say with his tale that if I do something for another, I do it "for him."
Does that not make sense? I will admit, however, that when I was young, I did believe that to do for another was literally to do for Jesus as if Jesus was watching me. I did believe that if I were to do something charitable for someone else that, literally, Jesus would be watching me and applauding me. That is kind of the way it was presented to me by my Catholic pastor - that to do someone nice is to do Jesus nice; but I think that resulted from a misunderstanding that Jesus was about people doing for him in the first place. Jesus may have told a tale that to do for another is to do for him, but I think it was only to inspire others to be kind. In truth, however, I do not think being kind should have any other purpose than being kind. It is the kindness itself that is important - even more than the pleasing of someone else.
Let me explain. I think the most important truth of life is that we simply inherit ourselves. It should have very little to do with acting to please another. It should have everything to do with acting to please ourselves. Why? Because we inherit ourselves. What we do comes back upon us. To be hateful toward another is to experience hate. To be kind to another is to experience kindness. That is all there is to it. If that is so, how can it be in my best interests to act toward another in a way that I would not want to experience upon myself?
Thus, "doing the work of the Lord" is only doing to please myself. The Lord's work is also my own. As "The Lord" would do, "The Lord" would have me do - simply because what "The Lord" was - and is - all about is to live in peace by way of being kind.
In fact, I do believe we have missed what Jesus tried to teach by virtue of thinking of him as a "lord" at all. I am quite sure that Jesus was not a "lord" in that he was commanding something of his followers to please him, Jesus. Jesus would not have us do what we do to "please him" near as much as we should be doing what we do to "please ourselves."
Again, though many Jesus people may disagree and expect that Jesus intends to personally punish or reward for a given behavior, I believe that we inherit what we are - and do - and that is what judgment of soul is all about. Thus, it stands to reason that to be kind is to "inherit" a disposition of kindness; and to be hateful is to inherit a disposition of hate - be it this life or a next. I do believe it is as simple as that. How about you?