Witnessing the WORD … (03/11/13)
“Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.” ~ unknown
Each & every one of us has a pretty good idea of what is “right” & what is “wrong”. Each & every one of us has a pretty good idea about what is “bad” & what is “good”. Quite a few of us even seem have a pretty good idea about what Heaven after death is like and what it takes to get there.
Fair enough … We are knowledge-seeking mammals, to be sure, and the sheer fact that so many of us have been searching for Truth for so long means that some of us have probably stumbled upon at least a portion of Reality.
That having been said, what we believe we know and how we apply that knowledge are two entirely different endeavors. In essence, knowing something and gently sharing it is one thing — forcing that knowledge on another is another. The former is “Good Fruit”, and the latter is simply rotten.
And yet we are “herd animals” by nature — we so want to give the gifts of knowledge that we have accumulated.
Again, fair enough … We simply need to remember when we do so that sharing is not forcing; that true giving is never coercive.
When another country disagrees with the ideologies of our own, it is simply “wrong” to invade it and demand that its citizens “shape up” … War does not bring Peace.
When a stranger disagrees with the way we should be living our lives, it is unjust to beat them into submission and force them to accept our personal values … Violence does not bring Harmony.
And when another person disagrees with our ow understanding of God, it is undeniably “bad fruit” to threaten him with eternal damnation or cajole him into changing his way of believing … Argument does not bring Awakening.
No, my Friends, if we do have a Truth that is filled with Beauty, there is only one way to truly share it — by LIVING it powerfully; always with humility & mostly in silence.
Arrogance is only one small step from hatred.
Both are born in fear … a fear that only be cleansed with Kindness.
So, if asked, answer gently & respectfully …
and until asked, LOVE courageously.
That is all …
“Just remember, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do everything — and the wrong way is to keep trying to make everybody else do it the right way.” ~ M*A*S*H, Colonel Potter
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