Are You Helping Yourself?

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”

So, if you’re not a peacemaker, whose child are you?

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

Sometimes I feel like an orphan – help me know happiness.
Sometimes I feel like a beggar – help me know security.
Sometimes I feel like an invalid – help me know healing.
Sometimes I feel like a victim – help me know peace.
Sometimes I feel like a sinner – help me know forgiveness.
You do all of that and more.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus, The Answer:

“How should I know?”

[Just wondering if He ever said it. No record that He did, of course.]

D. Blog: Helping Ourselves

The saying has it that God helps those who help themselves. I used to think that saying represented a terribly self-centered view of our relationship with God. I used to think it left out all those lepers and others who could not help themselves to divine assistance. I used to see that saying as another invitation to blame the victims of the multiform misfortunes in this life. I also thought it gave permission to be greedy, which would be encouraging us to sin and to pass by those who need our assistance, even to take advantage of them (whenever deregulation gave the opportunity).

While I continue to recognize the negative potential in the saying, I’ve come to view it from another angle, too. It can mean that we must work toward our dreams. It can mean that we need to seize life-enhancing opportunities that come our way. It might mean that some risks are worth taking if we want a fulfilling life. Then, when we help ourselves in those situations, the divine force for life, the positive energy that fills creation works with us.

Hope and change go together…