The truth about humanity

Great points! I love reading another perspective. It is hard to be older in college. It also kind of fun to see all that naive enthusiams sequestered in one place.

Such an awesome post.

Those are the kinds of conversations my heart hurts hearing and my soul cries out to reach deep in those speaking empty words. It doesn’t matter where our family came from – tradition and pride of our heritage can’t save you. In the end when you are about to leave this life as we all know it – not one of us will say but the ” ” deserved to have it better and because the ” ” were treated this way here I am dying. Just like you won’t say “I wish I worked harder and longer hours.”

I’m truly meditating on something God spoke to me last week – “If what you are going to say or do does not effect eternity it is a waste of breath and time.”

Blessings and grace,
Jill

“All of which makes us one family under one roof, many children with one Father, and every war a civil war.”

wow this was good.

I think if we all measured our worth by the way God measures our worth and contribution it would be a totally different conversation. Think of it, WHO has suffered more through absolutely no fault of their own? Through the atonement He carries ALL the hurt, pain and suffering. We only receive a portion. I wonder what we all have to complain about? This morning. I am sure I will forget this insight soon and have to learn it again. If we could only remember WHOSE children we all are. His.

Billy, I was actually getting ready to write a post on a similar topic. Everyone takes their little box of categories (the ones that we don’t want others to judge us by) and we stack them up and find our self worth in them, as you say. It’s the reason our society will never truly be a ‘melting pot.’ Everyone’s too attached to their own culture.

Like original sin, I think we are born with the sense that our own ways of doing things are the best. I know lots of Poles and Hungarians that can quote sayings from “the old country” in a way to make you think they believe that “the old country” is wisdom headquarters. I suppose I do the same when I quote my dad. I think that may be true for all or at least most nationalities, and as a country made up of many peoples, we have a lot of that going on.
Did you ever notice that something can be a blessing or a curse, depending on how it is used. Ethnic diversity in this country could be such a blessing if we were all more into learning about other cultures, and even sharing information about our own, than in convincing people that ours is the best. I mean, it’s not like I can convert someone to Hungarianness. So what do any of us get if I really convince someone that being Hungarian is better than being Myposian? How is the Myposian supposed to feel? We are meant to be one in Christ, not divided amongst our differences.
Sorry for the long comment. Please reject this comment if you think it is too long.

Lovin’ that last line.

I think it’s wonderful to celebrate where we came from, each cultures history, etc. Really, I do. Because we can’t move forward unless we learn and appreciate our past.

That being said, the more focus there is on what divides us, the less we can come together. And that is a huge problem right now. All around.

Like you said, we’re all connected. Let’s embrace that!

..too attached to their own culture and perhaps too afraid to quit making excuses for themselves and stretch beyond their own prejudices because it’s safe inside the box but a challenge when one goes beyond the four walls.

I love to listen intently to those kinds of conversations, just listen. I learn a lot about others just listening. I miss that about college, just listening to view points way different than my own. Its easy to get into a Shire and not get out into the rest of the world.

In reference to Matt, we are not much of a melting pot, you are right more like a garden salad or a stew where flavors influence each other but carrots are still carrots, potatoes still potatoes etc.

I’m with Joyce, that last line was just stinkin’ awesome.

AMEN!!!!! One family under GOD!! The world would most certainly be a better place if we all got this…..thank you for this post.
Blessings, andrea

Billy, wow, have you ever hit on something here that I’ve been trying, without much luck, to put into words for years. I grew up on a reservation, and there is definitely a perpetual wounded-ness that exists there to this day. Much of it well-deserved. But, over time, and with some distance, I have come to see how allowing those wounds to fester only imprisons the soul further. I’m a “white girl” who experienced the reservation from that lens. I owe much of who I am to that experience, the good and bad of it. But I do grapple with this very thing you mention here. What I’ve come to recognize is similar to what you conclude: in the end, we are all suffering people. All of us. No matter our color. We need to help release the hurts of those who have been deeply wounded. But we all have wounds. No one is exempt from suffering. Some wounds are more visible than others is all. In the end, with God’s help, we must find a way to free ourselves from that which binds us. Writing is one way to do that. Thanks for your perspective. Honest but gracious, once again.

I loved this line;
No, every gash there is a gaping one, a canyon rather than a cut

You’re right. There is no measurement for scars on the soul and if that isn’t proof enough that the color on the outside is nothing to the soul on inside–I don’t know what is.

You’re a new discovery to me, Billy Coffey, but I love it here.

“When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.

When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.” 1 Corinthians 9:20-23

I think we see beyond our differences/sufferings/etc and close the gap between all people with one intention in mind. To help all see and know the One and Only….Jesus.

That should have said:

I think we *need to* see beyond our…….

oopsie.

Great post and excellent thoughts. This needs to be more widely discussed…

Well, perhaps Christians should examine themselves first. Do Protestants hold grudges against Catholics? Do I hold a grudge against my fundamentalist past? Do Christians refuse to fellowship with other Christians over minor points in doctrine? Frankly, I think it’s pointless to ask everyone else to get along when Christians can’t even do it themselves.

Billy,

I have seen the same trend of these groups developing even within the high school. You are right, so many of these people claim the burden of some ancestors past sufferings and burdens yet rather than move forward, they have picked up the burdens from their ancestor’s past and continue to carry it as if to say, look what my family has had to endure rather than share how far they have come.

Some people I believe will always live with their face facing the past while others will keep facing the future that has yet to be. I prefer however to keep mine facing upwards in the hope of better things to come.

Love and Hugs ~ Kat

This is a quote I like very much and have it up in my dining area:
“The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you: they are unique manifestations of the human spirit” Wade Davis

Billy I think you should try and go back and join the discussion, it is all about hearing, really hearing one another. They need to heat what you say.
Thank you for the post. These are very important things to talk about, it is a pathway I hope to each of us understanding one another and knowing as you said that we all belong to one Father.

What a coincidence, I wrote a similar post yesterday, but rather than race, my thoughts turned toward religious conflict.

In the end the result is the same: without recognizing that we are all the same, we will continue to tear each other down for being different.

I like this paragraph:
Maybe at some point they’ll all come to understand the truth about humanity. Whether they believe we’ve all evolved from the mire of the earth or were created by a loving God makes little difference here. Either way, we’re all connected. We’re all the same.

So true.

Now that I’m thinking coherently, let me give this a shot…

I grew up in the South, but my parents taught us early that people that are different from us aren’t inferior– in fact, they’re probably more interesting than we are! I grew up in a tri-racial area (white, black, & Waccamaw-Souian Indian) and by high school, I’d decided that I was going to become fluent in Spanish. And probably, if we talked about immigrants’ rights, I would side with the minorities more than with American citizens. Teaching (mostly illegal) Latinos in ESL at the community college for two years gives me some insight into their lives that a lot of other gringos just don’t have. Add to this that I’ve traveled quite a bit and I’ve got a completely different worldview from most of the people I talk to on a daily basis… And all of this qualifies me to say, with a bit of authority, that we are all VERY different, but yet the same.

For anyone who doesn’t see this sameness, I would issue the challenge to go to any third world country and visit an orphanage. Walk around and look at the little faces and they’ll all show the same thing: we all need and deserve love. And that’s what we all should give. Regardless of color, gender, disability, likeability… Love is the common denominator.

I really appreciated your thoughts. I talked about something similar on my blog a few days ago. I am lucky to watch 3 little girls whose parents are from Ghana during the week. There is no issue of whose race is better. They treat me and my daughter the same as they would treat any of their friends from Ghana. I have learned, through watching how they and my daughter interact, the reason Jesus Christ advised us to become like little children. They love all people.

hum, good thoughts, billy.

it seems to be against our human nature to reach out when we are hurt or afraid.

instead, we build walls around our hearts and our lives, possibly to try and protect and comfort our selves.