"The Wisdom of Others"

I just finished reading this piece of fiction called The Shack. It's story about a guy who is traumatized by the brutal murder of his youngest daughter. He never recovers from it and continues to live his life in what he calls "the great sadness". Then one day he gets a note in his mail box from God, asking him to meet him/her at the shack where his daughter was killed.

The story gets a bit hokey at this point and despite the authors attempts to appear neutral there is a strong Christian slant to the God he presents. I forgive him this though because he eventually makes a point that I thought was brilliant in it's simplicity. She/He (God) explains to the main character that every institution that exists on earth; every religion, every country, every army, every constitution, exists only because we do not wish the same happiness for our fellow human beings as we do for ourselves. The simple reason we need these institutions is to keep our fellow man in his place....his place right behind us. Ho goes on to state that we create rules and laws so that we can judge our fellow man, and in doing so we put ourselves above him. For is it not true he says that whenever we pass judgement on anyone we are in fact saying that we are better than him.

I don't know about you but I do this all the time, and normally feel quite righteous about it. I know so many people that are more dishonest, more selfish, more rude, more arrogant, not to mention less kind, less sincere, less generous, and above all, less humble than me!

"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible."---Dalai Lama

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."---Mother Teresa

"Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. It passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious right."---Mahatma Gandhi

love
peter