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| “Stay where you are. Find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering, and the lonely right there where you are — in your own homes and in your own families, in your workplaces and in your schools. You can find Calcutta all over the world, if you have the eyes to see. Everywhere, wherever you go, you find people who are unwanted, unloved, uncared for, just rejected by society — completely forgotten, completely left alone.” -Mother Teresa |
World peace. It's a lofty idea. It's a radical idea. It's an ideal ideal.
Two simple words but in a conversation they tend to steer the talk to deep theories and intellectual arrogance as we eagerly share our beliefs and thoughts on how to make this all happen. We point to "other people" or "other places" (Middle East for example) and roll our eyes with pride. Obviously we must be doing something right and they are just mucking it all up.
But is that really the case? Look at our personal lives; we're divorced, angry, lawsuit ridden, bitter, and quick to burn bridges. We're disgruntled at work, we flip people off in traffic, cuss at telemarketers for annoying us, and feud with our adult children. We hate our parents, slander our ex's name to whomever will listen, and are eager to Internet bully complete strangers. We're told to write people off if we think them a nuisance. We feel justified in withholding compassion from jerks.
But it begs the question -- if we have had bad service at a restaurant and can't leave without feeling cheated and irritated, how do we expect a man on the other side of the world to forgive his enemies for setting off a bomb that killed his child? If we can't make it through a holiday without screaming at our spouse, why do we expect better self-control from a violent, starving thief in the slums a world away from our festive turkey? Therein lies more than just a hint of hypocrisy.
If we were to stand back and compare our actions to our ideals, I think it would be shaming. I think we in the First World countries would be humbled by how little we know about what it means to try to have peace when you're dying of hunger or when your living in fear for your life or when you don't have any hope of a brighter future.
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| "What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family." -(attributed to Mother Teresa but probably a paraphrase of a longer speech) |
My definition of peace is not simply the absence of violence and force. As a Christian, I believe in a greater peace, a peace not of this world. I've had a taste of that peace through my faith but my sinful nature constantly wars with it and my personal relationships can be oh so messy.
I believe God calls us to peace with ourselves and each other. He knows it's a tall order that no human can accomplish. This is why we're given the Holy Spirit; if we could do it on our own, we would. But we can't; we need divine help and intervention.
God has only entrusted me with a small pocket of the world to steward. And, sometimes, it feels like more than I can handle. So, in humility, I've realized I don't have the answer for world peace nor the power to carry it out.
What I do have is my teeny tiny corner of the world and I can make a difference here. If I did this, wouldn't that make for a better world? Couldn't that possibly slip from my home into other cities, other countries, across oceans, spreading around the world?
Our mission doesn't have to be exotic or bigger than life. Our mission field, battleground, and cause is in our own families and communities. Speak Jesus into the lives of those nearest you. God said to love our neighbors and our neighbors are surrounding us: whether it's the alcoholic everyone's given up on; the single mom whose kid just dropped out of school; the pastor whose dad just died; the married couple who can't get pregnant. We are literally surrounded by dozens and dozens of people who don't even need handouts or a lavish intervention but simply need a friend. Just show up. Be there. Share space together. Be inconvenienced. Open yourself up. Be vulnerable enough to possibly get hurt because you care just as hard as Christ cared for you.
Today, I think, is a great day to not give advice on how the entire world should resolve their differences. Today is a great day for me to work on my part of the planet and the lives of the people God has put there for a reason.
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| “Jesus taught us how to forgive out of love, how to forget out of humility. So let us examine our hearts and see if there is any unforgiven hurt - any unforgotten bitterness! It is easy to love those who are far away. It isn't always easy to love those who are right next to us. It is easier to offer food to the hungry than to answer the lonely suffering of someone who lacks love right in one's own family. The world today is upside down because there is so very little love in the home, and in family life.” -Mother Teresa |
(Child at soup kitchen in Bolivia, 2007)
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/75823451@N04/13915675772">Soup Kitchen Belly</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">(license)</a>
(Mom and son, 2015)
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/99847360@N07/19963346838">150730-F-PZ859-057.jpg</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">(license)</a>
(Hug, 2015)
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/123438770@N05/17151965178">together</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>
