I was thinking about Matthew, the tax collector, the other day, and how the Lord selected an unpopular worker to be His disciple. And how well Matthew justified His choice. As usual, the Lord showed His freedom from prejudice in giving his servant the chance that he never dreamed of, one that changed his life, and our lives as we read his gospel. The Sermon on the Mount, that most radical testament to Christian conviction, commands us to love our enemies, which must be one of the most difficult instructions ever issued. We are obliged to banish the ‘eye for an eye’ impulse and confront one of the greatest spiritual challenges of our lives. And although politicians are not necessarily our enemies per se, the instruction includes our attitude towards them.

I must admit that there are certain people who make my toes curl, whose presence on the TV ruins my day. ‘You lying cheat’, I think judgementally, and if I were Shakespeare I would shout ‘avaunt’. But we belong to a rational and charitable faith and clearly cannot continue as we are. Many politicians are the modern equivalents of the unregenerate Matthew, out for their own advancement, but we know from the Writings that the Lord can use these flawed folk for the good of mankind. We can judge their actions on the surface but are not able to separate the wheat from the chaff, which constitute the internal man or woman. So we are obliged to operate on the benefit of the doubt. Continue reading Should We Love Our Politicians? →

As a child, I thought that, as people grew up, they grew up. I presumed that as children grew into adolescents, and adolescents into adults, they matured accordingly, leaving their childish ways behind and adopting new, more refined, more angelic, more ‘right’ habits and perspectives. This is certainly true to an extent, as we can all witness and attest, however it was a shock to my system when I realised that this isn’t as thorough a transformation as I’d naïvely thought – with anyone, and less so for some than for others.

We are taught to turn to the Lord first and foremost; to do as He would have us do, according to His will. Inherent in this is good, or charity, towards others.
Continue reading Growing Up →

Recently I have been involved in several discussions about ideals. 

I have heard from women who say the Church hurt them by stating ideals when they were young, because they felt they were put ‘outside’ those ideals. I’ve spoken with women who have been harmed by selfish people..people they trusted to uphold the ideals but who instead threw them aside and chose to hurt others..

I’ve heard women who grieve over people mocking, discounting,  or ignoring the ideals set forth in the doctrines; feeling they are standing at bay protecting against an onslaught. 

I’ve heard women rejoice in, and bring the ideals forward for appreciation, like precious jewels.

And I have rejoiced with women over an ideal they’ve just rediscovered after a long spiritual winter, as they hold it in cupped hands for others to gather around and see, a tiny new growing Hope.
Continue reading Affirmative Idealism →