They Truly Do Represent Us

I’ve been fretting lately about the number of political appointees who are tax cheats. And I grow apoplexic about the politicians who ought to be in jail, instead of roaming the halls of Congress voting on bad bills we don’t need. Graft and corruption abound at all levels of government with hardly a murmur.

On the other hand, I can remember living in Dallas, TX during the fifties when we never locked our doors, not even when we left for a weekend trip. We kept the car keys in the ignition, so they wouldn’t get lost. Now people lock up their cars in their own drives, install burglar bars on their windows, and pay for electronic surveillance of their home to avoid thievery.

So maybe our dishonest politicians merely reflect the society they serve.

It’s Not My Brother, Not My Sister, But It’s Me, O Lord Standing in The Need of Prayer

If “they,” the elected government officials, truly reflect the people they represent, then it’s time for “us,” the voters, to start examining our consciences and changing our ways.

If America needs improving, the place to begin is with “us.” Christianity started in the middle of a permissive, pagan society. It thrived when those pagans observed the every day lives of Christians in their midst. Are we honest? Do we bring love and mercy to the hurting, broken people we live, work, and socialize with every single day? Do our lives reflect virtues worthy of emulating? Can we show love in every social interaction without condemning others or condoning sinful choices? Let’s change politics by changing ourselves.

Start at Home

I’ve never heard of any therapist who said his patients complained about how poor their parents were. But I’ve heard a lot about patients who wrestled with the lack of love their parents had shown them forty years earlier.

A man approached Mother Teresa and said,

"Mother, I want to do something great for God, but I don't know what. Should I start a school, be a missionary in a foreign land, build up a charitable agency?" He had great visions.

Mother Teresa looked at him closely, with kindness, and responded:

"What you need to do is make sure that no one in your family goes unloved."