Greetings Dear Reader,
We hear this word compensation bandied about greatly these
days. We hear talk of reparations and
demands for payment of debts long past but no less genuine. As I have thought through this, it has caused
me to ponder all the ways in which we compensate for what is good and right.
When my Grandfather used to talk about his reasons for doing
all that he could do to promote peace, he would quote Mary Wollstonecraft. “Convince a man against his will, He's of
the same opinion still." His
ability to speak to others and calm them was amazing.
I think that his sorrow would be that we are all trying to
shout down each other. We have lost the ability
to respectfully reason together. We do
wrong to demand right from others and that is never the right path. We compensate for the hurts and injustices
done against us by visiting injustices on others. No matter how true and noble a cause,
willingness to be unjust to others must be a check engine light for us.
There is no path to peace through anger, hatred, and
violence. If we compensate these things
with a like response, we only further the problem and we force our position on
others. We must listen and love. We have to hear before seeking to be
heard. These actions can promote
peace. We think that we are good, but
how can we be when we refuse to hear the hurts of others?
Even if we see the hurt as minor, that does not mean it is minor
to that person. If you doubt this, step
on a Lego® and let someone tell you it is minor. In the midst of it, it does not feel
minor. The pain is real and we need
relief. The world is much more serious
than a bit of foot pain from some pointy plastic. The analogy holds. We see the pain of the world and dismiss it.
When this happens, those in pain try to force us to see it
through actions that raise their voices but harm their cause. You cannot force someone to agree with
you. I can, if I do it right, convince
others to agree with me. I will be able
to show what I believe is true if I live that belief the way Christ commands me
to live. Others feeling the need to
raise their voices, cling to anger, and engage in violence must be the check
engine light that I am not showing enough selfless redemptive love.
If compensation or reparation is forced, it does not come
from love and conviction. The warning is
that we cannot force understanding. No
matter the issue, it must be love and reason that leads to peace. It has to be kindness and compassion that
fuel justice. Justice without love always
becomes unjust. I must check my heart
when the check engine light of compensation starts blinking, Dear Reader. No one should have to force me to listen with
love and compassion. Right now, it feels
that we are all shouting and jumping in the dark, barefoot in a minefield of Legos®.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer
who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a homeowner.
He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Every human story is part of the great story that leads
to the Father getting everything back to Good.
Contacts for Aramis
Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
When we accept anything as compensation for following
Christ, we are walking barefoot in the dark on a Lego® littered carpet.
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