Not Right, Just Real

In the Jewish Talmud there is a reference that states  “greater than one who does mitzvah, is one who causes others to do mitzvah"

Mitzvah

 

In Luke 17 Jesus talks about sin coming into the world but woe to the man whom they come.

He goes on to say  that it would be better for a milstone to be hung around the neck

and drown in  the sea than to cause one of these little ones to sin. 

This scares me  -

For any teacher, mother, father, or mentor this is scary --they are watching you – 

they want to be like you ,

you have a rare window of opportunity to shape, mold, teach, preach and

have a trusting relationship with your children and then its gone. 

Then in verse 3 Jesus says “Pay attention to yourselves”- this is self introspection –

 

I wonder if we could review a video tape of ourselves at the end of everyday with our key moment’s in it

Would we like what we see?

Would we be pleased with  how our children reacted to what we said and did?

Would we be pleased?  or Horrified? 

Probably a mix of both.

I know I wish I would have slowed down to SEE

Our behavior and poor choices can cause another to accept

our sin as okay and  then follow suit.  

In equal measure  our good choices or our “mitzvah” can cause others to do well.

 

We can inspire rather than degrade

We can encourage rather discourage

We can be light and not darkness.

But either way we pay it forward,

plant something somewhere in each other with every action and choice.

 

It can be overwhelming yet

This isn’t about doing it “right” -it’s about doing it real.

We are thinking, wonderfully ,fearfully created beings by an all knowing and all loving God.  

We can as Jesus says “Pay attention to ourselves,"

Not in pride or self absorption but in SEEING ---

Pay attention to what you say, what you do.

And prior to doing that it is advisable to pay attention to what you hear,

what you look at,

what you read,

what you allow to get into your soul via your time, schedule, money and environment

 

The old adage garbage in, garbage out has been proven over and over.

And to that we might add garbage picked up.

 

Feed yourself with trash, vomit that trash up and watch others pick it up and make it their own.

But the opposite is also true

 

Feed yourself with goodness, and give goodness to others

and they will pick it up and make it their own, and they will give it away.

And light will give light

 

While Mitzvah means commandment it  has a secondary meaning of doing  acts of human kindness.

 

Want to be great?  Give kindness.

Want to be greater? Be one who causes others to be kind.

Isn’t that how God starts with us?

 

He is kind, so kind.

His loving kindness has no bounds.

He, the greatest of all, gives us His kindness and when we receive it we are kind to others.

 

May I add here to also be kind to yourself...

Self loathing and guilt have no place in forwarding the gift of kindness you have been given. (but that’s another story for another day) 

You do not have to earn God’s kindness over and over.

He just gives it to you – moment after moment

 

May we do the same with others, because we are His.

Don’t make people earn your kindness,

don’t let your circumstances dictate weather kindness makes and appearance or not. 

 

God is kind to you –

 You be kind to you

 You be kind to others,

 So kind that you cause others to do mitzvah too.