New Church Life January/February 2017 | Page 29

     Our Lord knows that it’s not as easy as simply choosing to follow the commandments, simply deciding to do our work fairly and faithfully. He knows that as we strive to carry out our daily interactions fairly and faithfully, we’ll face temptations. Shortcuts, flashes of temper, defensive self-righteousness. So He lovingly calls us to follow Him – to call on Him as we bear the cross. To sell all we have: let go of the notion that we can make it all work out, that it’s up to us to determine what is right for everyone else. Sell all we have and give to the poor. The teachings for the New Church suggest that giving to the poor is to carry out our daily interactions fairly and faithfully in a spirit of true charity (Apocalypse Explained 893.4) – to recognize that we are all, in a sense, poor and needy. We’re all hungry for kindness, all thirsty for a clearer understanding. We all spend time feeling vulnerable, or like we’re the odd one out (naked, a stranger). All of us at times feel trapped or discouraged (imprisoned, sick). So Jesus tells us – in every interaction – sell all that you have, and give to the poor. Inasmuch as we offer each other respect, when we would rather dismiss as thoughtless the values of a different political party; inasmuch as we offer each other patience, when we would rather call out that frustrating customer service representative at the other end of the phone; inasmuch as we offer each other kindness, when we would rather make sure that family member knows how wrong or irritating they are; inasmuch as we strive to treat everyone around us as sisters and brothers in need of a charitable attitude, those little gestures of good will can continue to ripple out – and who knows how far they extend? Here in our little corner of the earth, it can be so hard to believe at [As] people become more used to being cheated, disregarded, put down, and they learn to respond in kind. Sadly, that’s much of world we live in today. But when we do the opposite, when we strive to carry out our daily tasks fairly and faithfully, the world does become a better place. There really is no limit to the hearts that can be touched around the world by our daily choices, our daily gestures of fairness and faithfulness. 25