Category: Social Issues

girl child hidden face in hair bruised hands over ears.

Your Witness to Black Market Slavery /Spiritual Meditations

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We hear of child abduction and feel helpless to improve the lives of the victims.  However, your reaction to this crime of worldwide scope can save a lost child without putting yourself in jeopardy; it is a crime hidden in plain sight.

Again, I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive; but better than both is he who has not yet been, and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 4:1-3)

Human Trafficking – a Global Blight

  • Human trafficking is a global problem affecting people of all ages.
  • It is estimated that approximately 1,000,000 people are trafficked each year globally. 
  • It is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. Enslaving an estimated 45 million, human trafficking generates more than 150 billion dollars each year.
  • Worldwide, almost 20% of all trafficking victims are children. However, in some parts of Africa and the Mekong region, children are the majority (up to 100% in parts of West Africa). Shockingly, the average worldwide age of entry is 12.

Between 20,000 and 50,000 people are trafficked into the United States, which is one of the largest destinations for victims of the sex-trafficking trade. In its 2019 report, the US State Department found the top three nations of origin for human trafficking victims were the United States, Mexico and the Philippines.  Slavery was abolished 150 years ago in the US yet there are more enslaved there today than any other time in history, many in the multibillion-dollar illicit massage industry and more in agriculture. 

The United Nations (UN) divides human trafficking into three categories:

  • sex trafficking,
  • labor trafficking, and
  • the removal of organs.

The UN defines human trafficking as the induction by force, fraud, or coercion of a person to engage in the sex trade, or the harboring, transportation, or obtaining of a person for labor service or organ removal. 

According to the Report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the most common form of human trafficking (79%) is sexual exploitation. The victims of sexual exploitation are predominantly women and girls. Surprisingly, in 30% of the countries which provided information on the gender of traffickers, women make up the largest proportion of traffickers. In some parts of the world, women trafficking women is the norm. 

The second most common form of human trafficking is forced labor (18%), although this may be a misrepresentation because forced labor is less frequently detected and reported than trafficking for sexual exploitation.

According to the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 1 in 7 of the more than 23,500 runaways reported to the nonprofit organization were likely victims of child sex trafficking.  A report from the Human Rights Project for Girls, Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, and Ms. Foundation for Women supports that finding. Their report entitled “The Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline,” states that girls who grow up in the instability of the child welfare system, particularly those placed in multiple homes, are “vulnerable to the manipulation of traffickers who promise to love and care for them. Indeed, some traffickers purposely troll for youth in certain group homes because they are aware of this vulnerability.”

The Trafficking Scheme

Traffickers look for victims that are susceptible such as young women, children and refugees. They look for the forgotten. Although a  high percentage come from foster homes or are runaways, others could be trafficked and still live with their families.

Human traffickers often create transnational routes for transporting migrants who are driven by unfavorable living conditions to seek the services of a smuggler. Human trafficking usually starts in origin countries where recruiters seek migrants through various mediums such as the Internet, employment agencies, the media, and local contacts.

Middlemen who recruit from within the origin country commonly share the cultural background of those migrating. Migrants view the services of a smuggler as an opportunity to move from impoverished conditions in their home countries to more stable, developed environments.

Because such circumstances make it difficult for victims to obtain legitimate travel documents, smugglers supply migrants with fraudulent passports or visas and advise them to avoid detection by border-control agents. Transporters, in turn, sustain the migration process through various modes of transportation: land, air, and sea. Although victims often leave their destination country voluntarily, the majority are unaware that they are being recruited into a trafficking scheme. Some may be kidnapped or coerced, but many are bribed by false job opportunities, passports, or visas.

Transporters involved in trafficking victims from the origin country are compensated only after they have taken migrants to the responsible party in the destination country. Immigration documents, whether legitimate or fraudulent, are seized by the traffickers. After this, victims are often subjected to physical and sexual abuse, and many are forced into labor or the sex trade to pay off their migratory debts.

Although trafficking seems to imply people moving across continents, most exploitation takes place close to home. Data show intra-regional and domestic trafficking are the major forms.

So Many Complications Dealing with Human Trafficking

It is impossible to ever reach a consensus on the true scale of the problem but, regardless of the figures, what matters is that human trafficking is big and getting bigger and every number represents a human life destroyed. It is happening on every continent and in almost every country: whether the place we live is a source, destination or transit point for trafficking, none of us can claim to be wholly unaffected by this crime.

It must be emphasized that the essence of trafficking is the forced exploitation of individuals by those in the position to exert power over them. Moving people may take a variety of forms. If they have been tricked or deceived, a person may even willingly transport themselves into a situation of exploitation. But unlike those who pay to be smuggled into another country, victims of trafficking have no prospect of making a new life for themselves.

International trafficking will inevitably raise issues of immigration, but its victims cannot simply be treated as illegal migrants, nor can the efforts to tackle it be reduced to stricter border controls. We can find sex trafficking abhorrent without taking a particular stance against prostitution, and policies to reduce or control the sex industry are just one approach to end the trade of human flesh. Finally, despite the similarities between the organized trafficking of drugs, arms and humans, which may require comparable police tactics to combat, we commit a grave injustice against the victims of human slavery if we reduce them in our minds to the status of commodities.

The first step to preventing human trafficking and prosecuting the traffickers is therefore to recognize the complexity of the crime which cannot be tackled in a vacuum. Anti-trafficking strategies must be embedded in every policy area, from improving female education in source countries so that girls are less vulnerable to trafficking, to increasing police pay in destination countries so that officers are less susceptible to bribery. We cannot allow ourselves to marginalize the issue of trafficking, viewing it as something that can be ended with a few extra taskforces or dedicated units. We need everyone to be aware of how it affects them, and what they can do to stop it.

How the Average Person can Recognize Human Trafficking

Often victims are people we walk by every day but unless you know what to look for you won’t notice them.

For example, when you’re passing through an airport, you’re usually focused on getting to your destination as quickly as possible.  But glancing around and noticing your fellow passengers could help save a life. It’s not just vacationers who travel on planes; airports are also hubs for human trafficking — when adults or children are transported into forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation.  Seeing something and reporting it could potentially keep someone from becoming a victim of modern slavery.

The red flags of identifying victims of human trafficking:

Lack of control – Victims are continuously monitored with little control over their money or IDs. They may not be allowed to speak for themselves, or a third party may insist on being present. They are not free to come and go at will.

A ‘girlfriend’ or ‘boyfriend’ who is significantly older will control who the victims will associate or correspond with.

Poor mental and physical health or abnormal behavior. Victims may have a sudden change in mood or fashion choices.  There may be a negative impact on grades and a change in the friends that they keep. They may be anxious, fearful, and avoid law enforcement and won’t look you in the eye. They may also show signs of substance abuse or addiction, poor hygiene, malnourishment, physical or sexual abuse or physical restraints (especially at wrists ankles necks and arms).

Tattoos – Commonly used are roses, dollar signs, crowns, barcodes or QR codes which are especially common in the United States.  These designate whose property they are.

Other signs – They have few or no personal possessions.  They ae subject to verbal or physical abuse by their supervisor.  They may live and work at one site with high security measures at work and/or living locations.

How You can Help Reduce Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking Hotline Numbers

The following information is derived from internet searches as of January 2021.  Over time some numbers may change.  Please confirm for your area.  If no hotline number is available contact local law enforcement.

In Australia, if you are a victim of trafficking or know someone who is, contact the AFP on 131AFP (131237) or email NOSSC-Client-Liaison@afp.gov.au

In the USA, if you suspect human trafficking you can call the National Human Trafficking hotline at 888 373 7888 or text “help” or “info” to  233733  (be free).  Or call law enforcement at 911.  The National Human Trafficking Hotline is confidential, toll-free and available 24/7 in more than 200 languages.  You can also chat @ humantraffickinghotline.org.

In Europe, if you suspect human trafficking you can call your national hotline as listed alphabetically by country in this link: National Hotlines | Together Against Trafficking in Human Beings (europa.eu)

If you live in Kazakhstan, The Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, or Uzbekistan, contact the corresponding numbers listed at the bottom of this link. Surviving Human Trafficking | Program Update | Kazakhstan | U.S. Agency for International Development (usaid.gov)

To report a potential trafficking situation in Singapore, please contact the local authorities at: Police hotline 6435 0000 or email SPF-Report-rafficking@spf.gov.sg
Ministry of Manpower 6438 5122 or email mom_fmmd@mom.gov.sg
All information provided will be kept confidential.

0800 222 777 is the South African National Human Trafficking Hotline

Another alpha listing by country can be found on How to help: Global hotlines – The CNN Freedom Project: Ending Modern-Day Slavery – CNN.com Blogs  

Financial Support for Organization Fighting Human Trafficking

If you would like to support an organization that is fighting human trafficking in the USA, the following link lists those organization by state and provides their phone numbers.  Sex Trafficking Prevention and Intervention Organizations – Child Welfare Information Gateway 

If you do not live in the USA and would like to support an organization in your country that fights human trafficking, the following link provides their names and location.  Scroll down to find an alpha listing by country.  Anti-trafficking organizations around the world – CNN 

Conclusion

The extent of human trafficking is overwhelming when we consider the numbers, but we can make a huge impact on the life of an individual victim.  Our choice to recognize the red flags of trafficking and report what we see, is to follow in the footsteps of the Good Samaritan.  It is our natural impulse to help – it is fear that keeps us from doing so. But faith and trust in God pushes us past the fear, to free a man, woman or child from slavery and abuse.

For he delivers the needy when he calls,
    the poor and him who has no helper.
He has pity on the weak and the needy,
    and saves the lives of the needy. (Psalm 72:12-13)

If you see a child, woman or man being trafficked, God has put you there for a reason.

Relevant Scripture

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. (Matt 5:7)

Behold, the wicked man conceives evil,
    and is pregnant with mischief,
    and brings forth lies.
He makes a pit, digging it out,
    and falls into the hole which he has made.
His mischief returns upon his own head,
    and on his own pate his violence descends. (Psalm 7:14-16)

The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and his soul hates him that loves violence. (Psalm 11:5)

Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
    for false witnesses have risen against me,
    and they breathe out violence.  (Psalm 27:12)

but these men lie in wait for their own blood,
    they set an ambush for their own lives.
Such are the ways of all who get gain by violence;
    it takes away the life of its possessors. (Proverbs 1:18-19)

O Lord, thou wilt hear the desire of the meek;
    thou wilt strengthen their heart, thou wilt incline thy ear
to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
    so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. (Psalm 10:17-18)

References

Seeing the Unseen: How to Recognize Human Trafficking – YouTube by Brittany Ketter

5 Common Types of Human Trafficking – Public Health by Public Health Nigeria

Prevention, Prosection and Protection – Human Trafficking | United Nations by Ruth Dearnley

13 trafficking statistics that enormity of the global sex trade (usatoday.com) by Cara Kelly published July 29, 2019.

stick figures

Reversing the Little Known Causes of Prejudice/Spiritual Meditations

On By Spiritual MeditationsIn Social Issues, Your Spiritual Life3 Comments

“If he’s fat, he’s a glutton.” “Anyone with that accent is uneducated.” “As a woman, she’s a push over.” Prejudice can target anyone different than us and includes stereotypes of women, men, the rich, the poor, the LGBTQ community, ethnicity, bikers, conservatives, liberals and anyone that comes to mind when asked “who do you consider lesser, avoid or fear?” 

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)

Why a tax collector? Because they were despised by the Jewish population, which was who Jesus was talking to.  Yet this man humbly recognized himself as a sinner and sought God’s mercy and Jesus declared him exalted and justified.

We don’t have to look far to find our “tax collectors” of today: people who are part of a group despised by someone, people who don’t get the credit they deserve.  We make assumptions about individuals without knowing their heart or mind or their situation.  Whereas Jesus may declare them justified before God.  How do we develop such strong feelings about people we don’t know?

The Development of Social Categories

All people have a need to make sense of the world and we do that from infancy and across our lifetimes by creating categories to help interpret our environment. We create constructs like “fruit” and “vegetable” to categorize types of food. We create constructs about gender, age and other attributes of people.

Most of our constructs are based upon our socialization and the concepts we learn from the people around us, as well as our exposure to books and media. No one is born prejudiced, but as we are exposed to others’ biases, inaccuracies, and stereotypes, we develop beliefs that are discriminatory. Let’s admit it – It is nearly impossible to grow up without some.

Confirmation of Our Biases

Once constructs have been formed, we have a natural tendency to selectively attend to information that agrees with or confirms our existing categorizations. So, biases such as Asian men are good at math and science, black men are good at basketball, or white men are entitled and insensitive to others are reinforced as we selectively attend to any information that reinforces our existing biases. We then have well-entrenched stereotypes that can guide our actions.

Implicit Bias

Once a stereotype is entrenched, it can become unconscious and automatic. We find ourselves just reacting without stopping to think. We may believe that we are truly not prejudiced or racist, while not consciously aware of our automatic thoughts and attitudes. There are generally two parts to this:

  • Conscious, deeply held thoughts and
  • Unconscious thoughts and beliefs that sometimes guide our behavior.

The Escalation of Prejudice

Initially, if a person feels insecure or lacking in identity, they may have a desire to affiliate themselves with a group in order to strengthen their sense of self and find a feeling of belonging.  Being part of something bigger than themselves and sharing a common cause with the other members of their group makes them feel more complete and significant.

There is nothing wrong with this in and of itself.  However, this group identity may lead to a second stage. In order to further strengthen their sense of significance, members of a group may develop hostile feelings toward other groups.  Here we begin to judge others whom we don’t even know.

The third aspect is when members of a group take the step of withdrawing empathy from members of other groups, limiting their concern and compassion to their fellows.  For example, as political tensions polarize us, we become unquestioningly zealous about our party affiliation and feel momentarily justified not empathizing with members of the opposing party – we dismiss them as other.

This is closely related to a fourth aspect, in which individuals belonging to other groups are no longer perceived in terms of their individual personalities or behavior, but in terms of generalized prejudices and assumptions about the group as a whole. 

And finally — moving into the most dangerous and destructive extreme of prejudice — people may project their own psychological flaws and their own personal failings onto another group, as a strategy of avoiding responsibility and blame. Other groups become scapegoats, and consequently can justifiably be attacked or murdered, in revenge for their alleged crimes. Individuals with strong narcissistic and paranoid personality traits are especially prone to this strategy, since they are unable to admit to any personal faults, and are especially likely to demonize others.

Changing Our Minds

Changing our individual unjust social concepts takes conscious effort and practice. Dr Sherry Benton has 3 suggestions on how to do this:

  1. We all have prejudicial beliefs and we need to begin by acknowledging them if we are going to grow.  If we tell ourselves, “I’m not prejudice,” we are likely burying and ignoring the truth.
  2. We need to actively seek out objective facts that do not support our beliefs. Easy enough to do with the internet.  Find those objective sources.
  3. We need to focus on making our stereotypical, deeply ingrained beliefs conscious and reflect on their impact on others. At this point we generally know the right thing to do and we can act without prejudice while recognizing that we do have prejudice.

The Good Samaritan parable is an excellent reminder of how we should act toward others. I you’re wondering who merits such compassion from us, you may find an answer in this article entitled “Who are Your Neighbors?“

Conclusion

As social animals we require a healthy balance between a sense of individuality (our own and that of others) and a sense of belonging; prejudice is the loss of that healthy balance.

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Relevant Scripture

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. (Luke 6:37)

Therefore, judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. (1 Cor 4:5)

Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. (Act 10:34-35)

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. (James 2:1)

References

“The Psychology of Racism; Racism is a sign of a lack of psychological maturity and integration.” by Steve Taylor Ph.D.

“A Surprising Cause of Prejudice; The real problem might be how we relate to people like us”  by Ron B. Aviram, Ph.D.

“Understanding Prejudice, Stereotypes, and Racism; Why we develop social constructs—and how we identify and change them.” by Sherry Benton Ph.D.

Unleash Your Good Samaritan Impulses /Spiritual Meditations

On By Spiritual MeditationsIn Social Issues, Your Spiritual LifeLeave a comment

The parable of the Good Samaritan (who pays it forward in a big way) not only compares the actions of the self-righteous and the righteous but speaks of human motivations to help or not help. Although we vilify the priest and the Levite, we find ourselves exhibiting the same avoidance behavior (sin of omission) on a regular basis.  How can we recognize and overcome our tendencies to ignore opportunities to show compassion?

Why do People Help?

Evolutionary Model

The evolutionary model maintains that people are naturally inclined to help one another because it contributes to the survival of the species. This is especially true in situations that are considered low or moderate risk, such as helping someone pick up something they have dropped.  

In higher risk situations, however, a phenomenon called kin selection occurs. Kin selection indicates that people are more likely to help only their relatives, because they are intuitively carrying on their genetic line.

Egoistic Model

Whereas the evolutionary model seems to employ a more collective effort for helping behavior, the egoistic model suggests that sometimes people egoistically help others because helping elicits some type of reward. People who are intrinsically motivated, help others because it makes them feel good inside. Their empathy allows them to understand what another person is feeling and their desire to relieve them of their suffering elicits an altruistic behavior.  Think of it this way: when you give a donation to a cause about something you care about, you are not necessarily expecting anything in return.  Because you deeply care about that cause, it makes you feel good to be a part of it.

When intensified to an emergency, bystanders may feel fear, anxiety or sympathy.  Being upset by this emotion the bystander feels a need to relieve it.  The greater the perceived need for help, the greater the bystander’s emotional response and the greater their likelihood of providing assistance.  But not always as you will soon see.

Reciprocity

Reciprocity states that people help because they expect to be helped in return. Additionally, it states that a person who has been helped previously, will feel indebted to help those who helped them.  And often that is true.  But let’s say that you give a donation to your cause, but you know that you are getting a gift card to your favorite restaurant in return.   Although this may seem like a selfish motive it is not necessarily so.  Often it is apparent that the donation is of a far greater value than the reward-it is a thank you rather than a reciprocation, but it’s just enough to make the giver feel like they are also getting.

Furthermore, helping someone and thus receiving something in return, can benefit your family. Although the welfare of your family can be seen as a gesture of self-interest, you may be motivated knowing you are contributing to their health, safety, and happiness. Of course, we can also see an example of the evolutionary perspective here as well: you are helping someone and receiving something in return in order to enhance the survival of your family, which in turn carries on your genes.

Social Responsibility

Social responsibility is a feeling that a person has an obligation to act in such a way that benefits the whole society. With this, a person has a duty to fulfil or maintain the balance in his environment. A person may do this actively, by donating money to government NGO’s or recycling their garbage, or passively, by ensuring that he commits no harm to others.

The passive response brings to the surface a discussion of the “sins of omission” wherein we don’t further damage someone in need, but neither do we do anything to help them.  We ignore them: let’s see why.

Why do People NOT Help?

The Bystander Effect

This concept states that the presence of bystanders inhibits or decreases the likelihood of a person helping another. The more bystanders there are, the less likely that a person will extend help [an experiment on bystander effect]. Several variables explain why this occurs.

Ambiguity

This variable pertains to a person’s perception of how grave the need is. High ambiguity situations would cause a person to have second thoughts about helping – for example, a soft cry vs. a loud scream.

Cohesiveness

This variable affects the likelihood that bystanders will help another based on familiarity with the person in need.  Remember evolutionary kin selection above?

Diffusion of Responsibility

The presence of other bystanders leads one to believe that the others will take responsibility. This may be affected by skills or qualifications, in which one believes that others are more qualified to help, thereby avoiding giving unwarranted assistance.  How many films have you seen in which a crowd gathers on a beach watching a drowning person?  Did you admire the one or two individuals who stepped out to provide the rescue?

Modern Good Samaritan Rescues Boy from Humiliation

I found the following post on social media. It provides a great example of someone who acted compassionately, but also note that it appears that there was only one bystander who might have inhibited the woman’s intuitive response to help.

Amber Schaefer
February 14, 2019
So, I just stopped at Arby’s to treat myself to a mint shake for V-day. While waiting for my order I was watching this silly and playful group of high school boys order lunch for V-day for the girls with them. One young man who was hanging towards the back of the group was being pretty quiet and particularly caught my eye. The last boy placed his order for the young lady and ordered nothing for himself. The girl then ran away with her gaggle of other girls to go get seats. I watched this boy fumble through his empty wallet holding only $2. He then hands over his debit card slowly and of course it declined. I watched his little head look down with the saddest feeling of defeat and boy did it pull at my heart strings (I literally could feel his heart sink into his stomach while his mind frantically raced as how to fix this situation without his friends knowing)…I pray no one ever has to feel that feeling of sheer embarrassment and helplessness because of lack of money…Lord knows I’ve stood right where he was many times in my life…it’s awful.

Just then, his girl comes fluttering back to the counter to check on him…the cashier and I’s eyes locked and it was just this overwhelming feeling in my body that I had to do something. Being a mom makes you look at the whole world differently. So, as though it was second nature, I quickly bent down and pretended to pick up $20 as though he dropped it. I handed it to him and he paid with his mouth wide open. He then tried to hand the change to me as his girl went to fill up her drink cup. I politely declined and told him he still needed to get her dessert. In that moment, a 15 year old boy grabbed my hand and squeezed it so tightly…with tears welling in his eyes he simply stated “Thank you…thank you for your kindness ma’am”

That was an awesome moment. As I went to leave with my shake, the cashier winked and said with a giant smile, “well played!”

I didn’t change the world today…but maybe, just maybe, I helped a boy know that love and kindness can come in many forms. Damn that felt good…especially on Valentine’s Day 💘

This lady had just gloriously avoided a “sin of omission” and gives us an excellent example of empathy and altruism in action.

How Can We Realize Greater Christian Perfection?

Dr Samuel Paul Veissiere provides brilliant insight on how we can do better at avoiding the sins of omission by merely acting on our natural impulses.

He observes that probing the core of what makes us human can seem rather bleak in these times of humanitarian crisis. That we have such a crisis to begin with speaks to the terrifying violence, callousness and ignorance we are all capable of.  But there is also something deeply precious about our unique nature-nurture, and now more than ever, it is time to remember, honor, and summon that part of the human in each of us.

Altruism, cooperation, and caring for the vulnerable is what made our species unique. It is empathy and cooperation, not self-interest and competition, that drove our physiological, cognitive, linguistic, cultural, social, and technological evolution. We wouldn’t be the large-brained, neurally-plastic, intelligent, cumulatively-learning, empathetic beings that we are without the mutual help that characterizes our everyday interactions.

Our evolutionary history is one of collective child-rearing, cooperative hunting and gathering, caring for elders and the sick, and freely sharing information. Raising weak, slow-maturing human infants requires immense amounts of collective effort and the free sharing of knowledge, attention, time, love, joy, and fun. This is a miracle that we have reproduced in each generation. That every one of us can walk, think, talk, and imagine in one or more language(s) and navigate complex social worlds is a testament to this collective miracle. We owe this miracle to everyone alive today, and all that came before us. We could never be our own selves, in other words, without others – without all others in time and space!

In his excellent ethno-history of money and passionate debunking of the rational-actor, homo econominus‘ view of human nature, anthropologist David Graeber points out that for most of human history, the reciprocal expectation that social obligations had to be repaid in kind was simply not the norm.

What’s in it for you, after all, when you stop a stranger to let them know they dropped their wallet, when you freely give them directions, or watch their belongings on a beach or at a café? Absolutely nothing! Nothing beyond the intrinsic, automatic urge to help a fellow human.

Sympathy is feeling sorry for someone but does nothing to help their circumstances. It is without consequence or action. Another way to look at any problem is through the lens of empathy; and to distinguish between what we may term deep and shallow levels of empathy.

Empathy requires the ability to put oneself in someone else’s perspective. Intuiting ‘correct’ behavior from a set of implicit rules  (something at which humans are extraordinarily skilled) requires just such perspective-taking abilities. We behave according to the way we expect others to expect us to behave in any given context. Empathy is a highly complex cognitive operation that we engage in without conscious effort in all but the most trying of everyday actions, from knowing how and where to sit on a bus or waiting room to ignoring the homeless.  Bystander experiments in social psychology have shed ominous light on our collective social minds: as strange as it may seem, someone being harassed in public is more likely to be helped by a stranger if there are fewer people around; if the bystander mode of attention is one of callousness and ignorance, breaking that spell becomes counter-intuitive and very difficult for all involved.

Consider the following scenario. You are sitting in a crowded subway, and notice a pregnant woman standing by the doors. Every part of you is aching to get up and offer your seat (deep empathy), but everyone on the train is looking down at their mobile phone and blocking off the social world around them with their headphones. You find yourself, somehow, too shy to offer help.

You leave the train filled with shame, and soon forget about the incident.  Your basic empathetic abilities in this case are translated into a pro-social urge to enforce local norms-do what everybody else is doing. This is what Dr. Veissiere terms shallow empathy.

The scenario described above is something we have all experienced. We experience it daily. We experienced it with tears and horror when we saw the picture of the dead Syrian child washed ashore on the Turkish beach during the September 2015 refugee crisis. We desperately wanted to help, but soon felt too shy or insignificant. Some of us shared the picture on social media and wept a little more; some of us donated money here or there, but soon, we all moved on to the next Facebook post about cats, cars, or vegan meals, and resumed our ignorant bliss as usual.

What it takes to break out of the hypnotic pull of rule-governed shallow empathy, then, is an approach to virtue ethics that is best exemplified in Confucian and Taoist traditions; one which, as neuroscientist and philosopher Francisco Varela argued can be broken down in cognitive-scientific terms. In the Confucian and Taoist practice of wisdom, the sage does not rely on abstract rules like those of the western sense of obligation, but rather trusts his or her intuition to act virtuously according to the minute particulars of each situation (remember the lady at Arby’s). Who would not ‘violate’ someone’s private property to rescue a child drowning in a residential swimming pool? Surely, the virtuous thing to do in such a situation is to overlook our respect for another’s property in order to save a life.  But how many of us would allow our socially-created conscious to delay us too long before jumping that fence and submerging ourselves, cellphone, wallet and all, to save that drowning child?

As we can see, intuition is no simple matter. The autopilot through which we navigate most of our everyday situations is deeply conditioned by largely implicit social regimes of attention that shape our every movement. This, in a nutshell, is what anthropologist Pierre Bourdieu  described as the “habitus”, or the way in which our most ‘personal’ styles of thinking, moving, and feeling, are constrained by a broader cultural context. It is this “broader cultural context”, (see ‘Why People Do Not Help’ above), which we must become more aware of as each situation presents itself.  To overpower it with our more ethical intuitive response to assist others allows us to avoid sins of omission
Once we are conscious of this problem, the virtuous approach entails an arduous back-and-forth monitoring of our conscious and unconscious intuitions, and the search for that right gut feeling, that feels counter-intuitive most of the time, on which to base our actions.  It supports our desire to offer our seat on a bus to a pregnant woman or comfort a homeless man who was crying on the sidewalk.  It also begins with a critical, ongoing examination of how we see others that continually shapes our relationships. In this process we may discover that our culture has fostered the wrong kinds of standard values.  At this point we are ready to rediscover and learn from other cultures, that have made charity and hospitality a sacred tenet, what it is like to be human.

The tradition of care and hospitality to strangers, to be sure, has been encoded, honored and kept alive in many languages, moral systems, and everyday modes of relations. This is what the African tradition of Ubuntu, “the quality of being human” stands for. In the island Mayotte off the coast of East Africa, people like to say mañka uluñu uluñu uluñu: “what makes a person is other people”.

In the postindustrial capitalist West, our deepest sense of ‘self’ has been shaped by the false notion that individual problems are distinct from social problems. As we forget our history and that of the world, we become content, selfish, and ignorant. We are not entitled to any of the privileges we take for granted.  More than our privileges, we owe our very life to humanity and the planet as a whole. This is a debt that, as David Graeber points out, can never be repaid.  The road ahead, then, entails honoring this Gift through compassion, love and care for others, even – and especially! – when it seems socially counter-intuitive to do so.

Conclusion

Even though he had just heard of the death of his cousin John the Baptist, Jesus wasn’t just sympathetic to the crowd before he fed the 5000. He didn’t just feel sorry for them. He had compassion for them, and that gut reaction spurred him to do what he could to help them. He cured their sick. He met them at their need and did what he could to serve them, to minister to them.  

It’s a heart issue. The sin of omission is allowed by the widespread hardness of societies heart. But everyone has the choice to follow their instinct and step out of the crowd in a stand for virtue ethics. When you listen to the Still Small Voice or act on your natural desire to help, you can welcome refugee families in your homes; show mercy for those trying to escape from violence and deprivation; campaign for healthcare, and immigration law reform in your countries, and so much more.

Then think further and keep questioning your allegiances to such strangely violent and narrow rule-governed divisions such as race, political party, and nation-states.  You can do it.

If you found this article interesting, informative, inspiring or useful please share it.

Relevant Scripture

Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,  and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”  And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.” (Luke 10:30-37)

References

“Caring for Others Is What Made Our Species Unique” by Samuel Paul Veissiere PhD

“Psychology of Helping Others” by Instructor: Joshua Mummert

The Psychology Notes HQ    

silhouette of 2 people forming heart with extended hands

The Key to Loving Your Enemies / Spiritual Meditations

On By Spiritual MeditationsIn Social Issues, Your Spiritual LifeLeave a comment

No part of the Sermon on the Mount is more challenging than it’s teaching to not only love our neighbor as ourselves, but our enemies as well. How we react to that command depends upon our answers to these questions. Is there something or someone outside the range of God‘s power? How great a God do we have? What limitations do we placed upon God? To what degree do we believe that God operates on this side of the street but not on the other side?

We are All One in God

According to the Master Jesus, we are to “call no man our father upon the earth: for One is our Father which is in heaven.” Therefore, no one has an American, African or Asian father; or white or black father. There is but one Father – the Father in heaven who is the creative and governing principle of each one of us and all that is.

We do not live in a world made up of separate people and things. It can be likened to the Hawaiian Islands. From the air, they appear to be six or seven islands, each one separate and apart from the other, but if we were able to go deep into the water, we would find that the Hawaiian islands are really one piece of land – just one island with six for seven upward projections, all one and united.

If we could see beneath the surface and investigate the heart of all mankind, there is no doubt that we would find that we are all united in the one common ground of God. Each one of us is merely a projection, or individualization, of that One, and when we penetrate beneath the surface of outside appearances, we soon discover that we are not alone, but that we are connected with the Source of infinity. We are one with It, and It is flowing out as our individual experience to the extent that we allow.

Carl Jung, noted psychiatrist, was convinced that the similarity and universality of world religions pointed to religion as a manifestation of the “collective unconscious”, those traits that all people have in common and a concept very similar to our understanding of the connectedness of all souls.

If You Love God, You Love All

Only when the Spirit of God touches us, can we feel spiritual love, and that love is not limited merely for family, but extends to our neighbors and enemies far and near. Surprisingly, this universal love deepens and strengthens the love a person feels for the immediate family; it is a love so complete that each member of the family has a genuine feeling of belonging but is a separate individual known by God.

It is easy to acknowledge that we have an Inner Being or Soul, it is pleasant and satisfying to think this about our friends and family; but it is far more important for our own spiritual growth to be able to go beyond seeing the true identity of those we love and admire and begin to realize the true identity of those we like least. Regardless of an individual’s origin or station in life, God is the creative principle of every man, and all that the Father has and is, is his for the asking.

There may be those who because of their ignorance of this principle of oneness do not yet know this truth about themselves and therefore cannot demonstrate it, but that does not prevent us from knowing it about them. Jesus tells us that if we go to the altar to pray, knowing in our hearts that we have not accepted all men as sons of one Father and therefore brothers, we might as well stop praying, get up from the altar, sit down quietly, and decide within ourselves that we must become reconciled with our brother. Only then can we hope to reach God.

We all know that not only are there people whose offenses are as great as our own, but that there are some that are far worse than we are, who seem to be almost beyond human redemption, much less spiritual redemption. For us to be spiritually whole, harmonious, and genuine, and to enjoy the kingdom of God on earth, it is necessary that, in addition to knowing the truth about ourselves and our friends, we expand our faith and know the truth universally so that we do not judge some people as separate and apart from God or as unworthy to be the sons of God, and thereby set up a divided household.

We all have human traits – some good, some bad, some indifferent, some we admire in each other, and some we dislike. But that is not you or I or they. That is the mask that we have built up since birth; molded by prenatal experiences, the environment of early home life, childhood, and school days and then later by personal experiences in the world. All these influences have formed not the soul but the outer armor of a person.

In so far as we can keep from thinking of a person only as their outer appearance and keep our mind stayed on God, realizing that everything emanates from Him and everybody lives and moves and has their being in Him, to that degree we can love our neighbor even though he is an enemy.

The outer signs indicated that Jesus was a carpenter, and a rabbi in the Hebrew synagogue, but because of his spiritual discernment, Peter was inspired to see through that appearance and recognize that it was the Christ that was really functioning as this man Jesus. When Peter was able to say, “thou art the Christ, the son of the living God”, it was because he was able to look through the human appearance and see what it was that animated Jesus and made him a savior and a world leader.

Consider the person who is the most troublesome to you. How do we know exactly except through our mind that he is the kind of person we judge him to be? Is the person we are seeing an actual person, or does what we have in our mind represent our concept of that person, that is, our opinion or thought about him? We must realize that our concept of him is entirely wrong, because in his true identity his soul is a piece of God, individually expressed on earth, and against whom we are bearing false witness. Therefore, we are the sinner, not he. God’s grace is upon this person. He lives and moves and has his being in God‘s household as a member of God’s family.

If we are honestly seeking God as a way of life and not just as a means to some desired end, not only do we discover that we are one with the Father, but also that there is not a man, woman, or child in the world who does not also have a spiritual spark. There are people who we may not like and yet, at some moment of conversion or transformation of consciousness, their past will be wiped out and suddenly they become liberated and new.

Every human being comes from the hand of God, and we all know what the love of God for us. God has His own ways and means to work in the hearts of men, and we do not know how close they are to Him except by their actions. We will always know whether they are at His disposal or not. Whether you are a Hindu, a Muslim or a Christian, how you live your life is the proof that you are fully His or not. Mother Teresa

Everyone is called. Everyone is chosen. Not everyone says yes to the calling. Jesus. Buddha. Martin Luther King. Mother Theresa. They said yes. They reached for the stars not just for themselves, but to inspire you. They have opened the door and shown you what is possible. Jesus himself said, “the things I do, greater than these you can also do “. Kute Blackson You are the One

A Hymn

This well know hymn asks us to pursue unity and guard the dignity of all people as a defining characteristic of a Christian.

They’ll Know We are Christians by Our Love

  • We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
  • We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
  • And we pray that our unity will one day be restored
  • And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
  • Yeah they’ll know we are Christians by our love
  • We will work with each other, we will work side by side
  • We will work with each other, we will work side by side
  • And we’ll guard each man’s dignity and save each man’s pride
  • And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
  • Yeah, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

Conclusion

When we think of the word ‘love’, what comes to mind is the warm fuzzy love that we feel for our significant other, close friends and family.  If you can experience this kind of love to strangers and enemies, I thank God for you.  However, the kind of love that is possible for most of us is to strive to do what is best for strangers and enemies, humbling ourselves when needed.  Let us forget the good that we believe about some and the evil that we believe about others and see what the spiritual truth is. We have to learn to let God do the loving and be willing to be an instrument through which God’s love flows.  We will understand why we have been told not only to love our neighbor as ourselves, but our enemy as well.

Relevant Scripture

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?  Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)

Reference

The Thunder of Silence by Joel S. Goldsmith

police crime area tape with car in back at night

You’re Not a Likely Victim – Trust / Spiritual Meditations

On By Spiritual MeditationsIn Social IssuesLeave a comment

The world has evolved to a place where nobody can feel safe. Violence in the news and on social media permeate our lives. Are we a species doom to kill and be killed?

The New Testament tells us not to be anxious or fearful. It is our trust in God that protects us. Today, medical science warns us of the health implications and psychology tell us how fear and anxiety often escalate into anger, which can result in violence. Our constant exposure to bad news is overpowering our sense of trust in God. I see fear as the major cause behind many of society’s problems and many of our interpersonal issues. So I’ve presented posts about different aspects of fear in an effort to help you, my friends, sort some of it out: fear of death in Afraid of Death?, fear of people unlike yourself in Who are Your Neighbors?, fear of criticism and low self-esteem in Advertising Creates Fear, and politically created fear in The Hidden Poison of Politics. This post is about your fear of being a victim of violence. I expect you will find the statistics as surprising as I did.

Hostility and Kindness are in Our Genes

What is in our genetic makeup makes us aggressive or kind? Fundamentally, our brains struggle with control over our violent impulses. The hypothalamus contains a cluster of cells that play a key role in aggressive behavior. When neurons in this cluster are stimulated in mice, they immediately become aggressive and their aggression is proportional to the strength of the stimulation. This cluster is also in humans in the most evolutionary ancient part of our brains. Almost every sexually reproducing species shows aggression.

But we are also wired for kindness and morality as shown in a study of babies. When presented with a puppet show of stuffed dogs, infants repeatedly preferred the nice puppy who was helpful instead of the mean puppy who was obstructive. Even at three-month-old, the infants demonstrated a sense of justice, by choosing the dog who was the defender, banishing the mean dog. Basically, intimating that “you are mean and you don’t deserve kindness”.

So, both morality and violence are baked into our biology and we humans switch between them depending on which is most effective at the time.

An interesting change has been seen in our biology. “Genetic self-domestication”, which bred peaceful individuals to other peaceful individuals, produces more peaceful offspring over several hundred thousand years. (so long.) This was evidenced by scientific examination of human skulls over the centuries. The ancient longer faces indicated more aggression producing testosterone. The faces of today are shorter and wider….less testosterone and a larger reasoning pre-frontal cortex. Studies show that the impulse control provided by the pre-frontal cortex, functions poorly in murderers.

Surprising Evidence on the Trend of Violence

Based on a variety of data sets, the reality is that we live in one of the most peaceful times in history but it doesn’t count as news. Over the centuries, we have lowered our rates of death by 90%. Paleontologists’ records show that, on every continent, ancient history was a horror show of violence and cannibalism. Spanish scientists have scoured the records of over 600 societies in existence between 50,000 years ago and today. Violent death among prehistoric people was three times what it is now.

During the last decade, data was collected on historical murder rates for several European countries. Over the span of 800 years, rates decreased, being cut in half every hundred years. The homicide rate fell from one in a thousand to one in a million. Why? There is a strong case for the “civilizing process”. Society changed and more penalties were enforced for harming another person. But this was not all due to altruism…. violence also interfered with the economy. The value of a person became more equated with how much self-control they had instead of how good they were at fighting.

During the Middle Ages the slave trade and torture were lawful and often conducted in the presence of judges. Therefore, equality was the radical idea of the 18th century, probably starting with printed materials, such as the Bible, as well as an increase in literacy. This was followed by newspapers and other print which created a broader sense of community. Empathy was and is increased by identifying with characters in novels and the questions driven by scientific experiment and reasoning. These made people think about social issues and equality.

197,734 case records from the Old Bailey, a judicial system in London, were scanned into a computer. For the years 1674 through 1913, data was searched for matches to violent words such as “knife”, “beating” and “killed”. During those years there was a strong shift away from interpersonal violence indicating that by the early 20th century people were using more civilized methods to resolve conflict. (yeah)

Even deaths due to wars is declining. In spite of the astronomical number of deaths during WWII, the wars of the 20th century show a decrease in deaths per capita. During the 13th century in the Mongol conquest, Genghis Khan’s troops killed an estimated 10% of the world’s population!

So violence is down, yet there is still a danger of totalitarianism in the election of nationalistic leaders who can destroy the trends of peace. Experiments were formulated in Poland to test whether people would inflict pain on others when ordered to do so, as in the WWII Nazi regime. Psychologists found that 90% of people will commit violence if ordered to by an authority figure. Which says that you and I would probably have done the same with the additional economic and survival stresses experienced during that war. (Yikes)

Where Violence is Being Reduced

News and social media inundate us with violence and we judge risk and danger by how many examples come to our minds. Surprisingly, the risk to Europeans and North Americans is less than that of being hit by lightning. But violence is concentrated in time and space in certain communities.

Education, government and equality drive down murder rates but they are not distributed evenly. Income equality is one of the strongest indicators of violence and violent acts are contagious (e.g. revenge). A program in Baltimore called Cure Violence sends trained “violence interrupters” into the community to intervene in the interpersonal pyramids of aggression at early stages. The program also connects with services to address the source of the violence… typically economic. Cure Violence has been duplicated in 50 cities around the world resulting in a decrease in violence by 40% to70% with sustained outcomes.

A mass shooting killing 36 people in April 1996 prompted the Australian government to take action. They banned and then collected assault weapons totaling 650,000. Killings plummeted. In the following 23 years only 2 mass shootings occurred resulting in only 10 dead.

Connecticut passed stricter gun laws after the Sandy Hook school shooting. The five-year average of gun homicides has dropped by 1/3.  Comparing other states in the US, the greater the gun restrictions the lower the gun violence.

In the Middle East there are strong religious and ethnic tensions. Prejudice results in dehumanization of ethnic groups, which then can escalate to the justification to inflicting harm. But in North Iraq, researchers wanted to test the idea of “contact” as a way to reduce prejudice. Integrated soccer teams were set up as a league with a few non-integrated teams as control groups. Although some players were initially uncomfortable, the integrated teams became social groups off the field with a more understanding perspective on people who were different from themselves.

Conclusion

Recent incidents in the news have not escalated to world war. New monuments are named for martyrs and civil rights leaders instead of war heroes. Requests for human rights are crossing international borders. As exemplified by Gandhi, nonviolence resistance is more effective than violent resistance by a factor of two. Human rights parallel this statistic. Will we stay on this path? If we don’t let media frighten us away from our trust in God, we can do so much more with His help.

Reference:

The information above was derived from an episode of Nova in November of 2019. I strongly encourage you to watch the video. It will give you further perspective on the chances of becoming a victim of violence and more background on what you have just read. It will also provide some support for some of the statistics that you may find astonishing.

Relevant Scripture:

 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of Sonship. (Romans 8:15)

Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:6-7)

Then Simon Peter drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. “Put your sword back in its sheath!” Jesus said to Peter. “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?” (John 18:10-11)

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matt 5:9)

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”  The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” (Luke 10:36-37)

At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, (2 Cor 8:14)

 

 

 

 

 

the word fear crossed out with marker by hand

Fear-the Hidden Poison of Politics | Spiritual Meditations

On By Spiritual MeditationsIn Social IssuesLeave a comment

There are many things that motivate us. But the most powerful motivator of all is fear.  Yet scripture tells us not to be afraid….God will be with us.

Fear is a primal instinct that served us as cave dwellers and still serves us today. It keeps us alive, because if we survive a bad experience, we never forget how to avoid it in the future. Our most vivid memories are born in fear. Adrenaline etches them into our brains.

Cultural norms also teach us whether something should be feared or not. Think, for example, about how certain social groups are feared and persecuted because of a societally-created impression that they are dangerous.

Nothing makes us more uncomfortable than fear. And we have so many fears: fear of pain, disease, injury, failure, not being accepted, missing an opportunity, and being scammed, to name a few. Fear invokes the flight or fight system, and our first reaction is often to flee back to our comfort zone. If we don’t know the way back, we are likely to follow whoever shows us a path.

Marketers use fear as a motivator as often as they can. They present a scenario they hope will invoke our sense of fear. Then they show us a solution – a path back to our comfort zone – that entails using their product or service. Fear is used to sell almost everything: cars, tires, and life insurance are classics. But clever marketers also use it to sell breakfast cereal and deodorant. As a result, we purchase all sorts of things that a generation ago were considered unnecessary: antibacterial soap, alarm systems. The list goes on and on. To use fear successfully as a motivator, a solution must be offered with it. A new path to follow.  (Robert Evans Wilson Jr. Psychology Today 9/23/09)

Politicians Manufacture Fear

And that is exactly what many political candidates do. If we buy into the ‘new path’ they are attempting to steer us into, through the fear-based scenario they present as likely, if not imminent, the only benefactor is the politician or political party that is doing the steering. Instead of being sucked into a belief in the politically proposed picture, let’s do our due diligence, use our logic and come to reasonable conclusions about the likelihood of the various threats and promises presented to frighten us into voting for them. Be confident in your spiritual beliefs of what is right and wrong, don’t let them manipulate you and then look for those who are honest in their speech and actions.

The Media Creates and Distributes Fear

Just as the government functions like any major conglomerate, as stated by Peter Vanderwicken, “Journalists and politicians have become ensnared in a symbiotic web of lies that misleads the public.” Some so-called news programs repeatedly sensationalize and create baseless hype for the purpose of entertaining, maintaining and controlling their audience. With self-interest and manipulation, their goals are not to inform the public but rather to make money from the public. Their stories often revolve around politics with a slant in the direction they have decided will excite the most attention and keep the viewer coming back for more.   If you have ever been aware of a news story first-hand and compare it to what was reported in the media, you know that there are usually discrepancies that can greatly change the readers conclusion.

Paul H. Weaver, a former political scientist (at Harvard University), journalist (at Fortune magazine), and corporate communications executive (at Ford Motor Company), states that we have become addicted to this culture of lying. Weaver states, “The culture of lying is the discourse and behavior of officials seeking to enlist the powers of journalism in support of their goals, and of journalists seeking to co-opt public and private officials into their efforts to find and cover stories of crisis and emergency response. It is the medium through which we Americans conduct most of our public business (and a lot of our private business) these days.”

Another tactic that we must beware of is the use of the sound-bite or snippet. Used by both politicians and the media to excite, entice or anger, it is a short poisonous phrase taken out of context. Look for the whole story by finding that news source that is complete and balanced in its reporting. If the announcers are pushing extreme opinions, this is probably not the one you want to listen too. Be assured that God is a better guide and don’t let them manipulate you.

How to Avoid the Hidden Harm of Politics

Yes, I know finding the truth takes some research which can be time consuming and requires tenacity. Unfortunately, it is easy to throw our support to whomever our friends or relatives have chosen, opinions often based on no more than the opinion of their friends or relatives….an endless chain, possibly based on misinformation and snappy slogans with no substance. Or, worse yet, a desire to be part of a ‘team’, possibly the same ‘team’ your authority figure is on, just to be a part of the contest without any real interest in the ‘players’ or their background and abilities. We all want to belong, but don’t let them manipulate you….do your own research and use the ‘golden rule’ as your gauge.

So how can we avoid being the politicians’ patsies? Remember: very little that a political candidate says can be considered the whole truth. Nothing fans anxieties like an absence of solid information, and nothing resolves anxiety like concrete data.  If the statements in a news story lead you to believe it could impact your life, don’t worry, but investigate the facts provided by a non-media source.  Preferably from someone directly involved or an expert on the subject.  If it is available, check the candidates’ voting record. If it isn’t available, ask yourself “how realistic is the picture he or she is painting”. Take an objective look around you; does your experience support their assertions? Self-monitor your fear-feelings (usually exhibited as anger) to determine if you are being taken in. We can also check the numbers candidates make up or exaggerate, thinking that we won’t check. But you are capable and can find the real statistics.

Fact Checking Resources

Here are a few sites that can help with ascertaining the truth. If you are aware of others, please share them in the blog post comments where readers can access them. Comments on Facebook will not always be available.

Politifact (fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others on its Truth-O-Meter) https://www.politifact.com/

FactCheck.org (The special interest groups behind the TV ads and more) https://www.factcheck.org/search/

Washington Post‘s Fact Checker (Checking the truth behind the political rhetoric.) https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/

OpenSecrets (Data on Campaign Finance, Super PACs) https://www.opensecrets.org/

The Sunlight Foundation (Making government & politics more accountable & transparent) https://sunlightfoundation.com/

Snopes https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/

FactChecker (for India) https://www.factchecker.in/

FullFact (regarding European politicians and media) https://fullfact.org/europe/

AfricaCheck (sorting fact from fiction)   https://africacheck.org/

Your Good Stewardship

Why bother with all this research? Good stewardship. God has created a world full of the wonderful creatures, the people He loves, the most beautiful scenery, an exciting universe, and a very sophisticated ecology. We, humans,  do not always do our best to sustain it; sometimes out of ignorance….many times, because of a greedy use of resources and thoughtless dumping. And in war-torn areas, environmental issues are a low priority. We aren’t necessarily doing this damage ourselves, but we are putting people in positions that make a difference; good or bad.

This is why your educated vote and involvement is important in sustaining and restoring the world that God made for you and your children. Instead of letting the politicians and media manipulate you with their fear tactics, research whatever issues concerns you. You are capable to take the road less traveled instead of being part of the frightened herd.

If you are trying to guess what political party or candidate I support, let me be very clear that I try to listen to God and support those who act as though they are following the teaching of Jesus. Verbiage meant to solicit the religious vote does not qualify. Do their actions show that they love God and love their neighbor as themselves? If they are attempting to frighten us into a particular vote or support, this is contradictory to scripture which repeatedly tells us to “fear not”. As my friend, Pastor Nathan writes in the following excerpt, ‘shine a light on it’, whether it be fear created by politicians or the media or something more personal.

Dealing With Fear

One of the modern classics of horror is Stephen King’s “It.” Anyone who has seen it and analyzed it can tell you that, as much of King’s work is, the movie serves as an extended allegory for what fear can do to people, groups, and even whole towns. What ultimately can defeat IT (fear), is laughter, even love….Much like the movie IT, fear itself becomes the monster inside of us, paralyzing us, hurting us, eating away at us, until it nearly kills us.

God tells us over and over again in the scriptures (365 times or there about) “do not fear.” And we hear later that “perfect love casts out fear.” Yet, IT happens to all of us from time to time. Small fears, or big fears creep into our psyche and play against our minds, hearts, and wills. Much like the classic horror films I used to watch, the unseen monster only hinted at in our imagination is the enemy, but who or what is the vanquishing hero? Classic Sunday School answers work here, I think. Jesus, God, love, laughter, yes all of these are good at overcoming fear.

But I think something else is a great place to start. Light. Shining light on the enemy within is a great starting point. Naming it, illuminating it, and facing it head on helps us to get a handle on it. Most of what we are afraid of will never happen, and if it does happen, most of the time it’s not as bad as we imagine it, and even if it is, we often find that we have more strength to get through it than we thought we would.

It’s amazing then, isn’t it, that love and light are but two ways Jesus gets described in the Gospels? I don’t think it’s any accident. I don’t know what you’re facing this week, or month, or year. Perhaps you have big fears, maybe only small ones.… But trust in God, lean on Jesus, shine some light, be filled with God’s love, and let God lead you through.   –Pastor Nathan

Relevant Scripture:

Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” (Luke 12:1)

  I went past the field of a sluggard,
past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.
 I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:
 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man. (Proverbs 24:30-34)

Again, I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed—
and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors—
and they have no comforter. (Ecclesiastes 4:1)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Phil 4:6-8)

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. (John 3:20)

For “Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
and their lips from deceitful speech.
They must turn from evil and do good;
they must seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”   Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?  But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” (1 Peter 3:10-13)

References:

Theo Tsaousides, Ph.D. is a neuropsychologist, assistant professor, and author of the book Brainblocks: Overcoming the Seven Hidden Barriers to Success. Article in Psych Today   https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/smashing-the-brainblocks/201511/7-things-you-need-know-about-fear

Paige Gilmar, B.A. English Literature & Journalism, McGill University (2019)

 

 

Confession-Blogging Was Not My Idea | Spiritual Meditations

On By Spiritual MeditationsIn Social Issues, Spiritual Experiences, Your Spiritual LifeLeave a comment

You would think that we all have something we consider worthy of being conveyed to others.  But not me.  I had no aspirations to write, but my husband suggested it, so I took it under advisement for several days.  My passion for spiritualty was the only realm in which I felt I could generate any worthwhile thoughts.  Yet I had no topic ideas whatsoever. Because my husband’s suggestion came out of what looked like thin air, I thought perhaps God was behind it.  So I prayed something like “God, if you want me to do this, I’m going to need your help and some topic ideas”.  As I got up from that prayer, eight topics poured into my mind, so rapidly that I had to run to write them down, so as not to forget any.  As this was not the first time that God had spoken to me, I recognized His voice and knew He was endorsing the blogging project.  So here I am, a year later.

If  you did not start following my blog from the beginning, you’ve missed the story of God’s big intervention in my life – the first post listed below.  This one I did feel had to be told as it is a good example of how God is active in our world.  I hope you will find these, my first articles, interesting and/ or inspiring.

Clouds that represent God's presence with my at the airport

God’s Faithfulness Changed My life and Restored My Income by introducing Me to a Lady on an Airplane.

https://yourspiritualinspiration.com/2018/08/18/god-makes-things-happen/

 

Sunset over mountains and trees

A Glimpse Through the Thin Curtain between Life and Afterlife as Witnessed by Myself and a Friend.

https://yourspiritualinspiration.com/2018/08/23/curtain-between-life-afterlife/

 

Methaphor for the many who have entered the afterlife

Afraid of Death? Get to Know Your Unknown.  This points to the conclusion that Near Death Experiences are real with profound significance and meaning, and also provide evidence of life after death.

https://yourspiritualinspiration.com/2018/09/15/afraid-of-death-know-your-unknown/

 

Our genetics select the needy. You are born to help.

Why do You Think Low-Income Families Deserve Your Help?  Do we have a moral obligation to share the fruits of our inherited personality traits with individuals who inherited traits that don’t make money?

https://yourspiritualinspiration.com/2018/09/02/low-income-families-deserve-help/

 

 

 

 

door representing the coice of life and free will

God’s Unsung Gift to You-Free Will/ Spiritual Meditations

On By Spiritual MeditationsIn People Helping People, Social Issues, Your Spiritual LifeLeave a comment

The agony we feel when we see loved ones or friends ruining their lives, or, at least, making bad choices, often brings us to our knees before God. At times we worry about the unknown and fear the worst. Even years of ceaseless prayer may appear to prove useless. What does this say about God? My friend, Lisa, describes just such an experience.

Separation

My family lived in a small town where everyone went to church. My mother was the church organist so we were the first family to arrive and the last family to leave on Sunday. We were a typical Midwest American family. There were 4 children in my family; 1 boy and 3 girls. My father was a farmer and my mother was a stay at home mom.

As I was starting high school, my older brother, Kevin, left to join the Navy. I expected he would do a lot of cool things and see interesting places, but I was also sad because I knew I would rarely see him. I knew the importance and power of prayer and I prayed for him often.

As the years went by, my parents seldom mentioned my brother. After I left home for college, I was busy with my own life and made fewer inquiries about how he was doing. Did he have a wife, kids etc. My mom would say “Oh you know your brother; he’s married to his job.”

The truth was that 6 or 7 years had passed and I no longer knew my brother. Every time I would drive to my parent’s house for dinner or a holiday, I would see his photos on the wall, but nothing recent. I was told he frequently traveled to different countries and my mother sometimes wasn’t clear on where he lived. I thought this was just how the military was but also thought it odd that he was in the navy for so long. There weren’t cell phones then and I was told he had no home phone to call.

I finished school, began my career, got married, had children, bought a home and never spoke to my brother. My mother’s conversations with Kevin were always repeated at holidays. I can remember the phone ringing at Christmas one year and I prayed it was him. My heart stopped for a moment at the thought of hearing his voice again. But it wasn’t him. What if he just walked in the door? That would be a glorious day for my family.

In later years, my dad told us that Kevin was working in Alaska on a new pipeline and would be out in the uninhabited free land zones. I felt my family had lost him.   The distance and lack of communication had taken its toll and I had stopped praying for him every day. The days of praying with my parents and siblings sitting around a table holding hands was becoming a very distant memory for me. I missed that and I missed my brother.

My husband and I taught 1st and 2nd grade Sunday school. As the children talked of their brothers and sisters, I would get a glimpse of Kevin again in my own life as we grew up. That ache in my heart and the hope that my brother was OK would come rushing back.

When the family gathered at my parents’ house, my sisters and I would express concern that my mother’s only comments regarding Kevin were “Haven’t heard from him in a while”.  We heard the same comment many times.

Frustrated, I asked my mother for the name of the company Kevin worked for…. or was he still in the military. She said it was a private company and gave me the name. I called the human resource department to get an office phone number or a supervisor name. The lady I spoke to was very kind to me and understood how anxious I was to speak to Kevin. She said she would look up his contact information and call me back later that afternoon. When she did, she simply stated that he was unreachable. This made no sense to me but she had no details. The ache I had was very palpable now. My prayers to hear his voice were not going to be fulfilled. I prayed that afternoon for his happiness, and his mental and physical health wondering if he still prayed or missed us.

On a busy Monday morning at my hospital. I received a page that my mother was trying to reach me. Initially she asked me to just listen. She explained that my brother had become homeless and had been addicted to heroin for the last 2 years. He had been found in a shelter, very ill, and had been sent to a hospital. That was all she knew that morning. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I didn’t want to believe that our God had forgotten about Kevin and left him this way.

I left work, went to my car and cried harder than I ever had in my life. I remembered my scripture in Deu. 31:6; “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you.”    I prayed out loud asking God ‘why?’. How did I not know that Kevin needed help? I was so mad at myself for being so involved with my own family that I didn’t try harder to find him. I could fix all my patients at work, but not my own brother. I was also mad at God. “Lord, why did you leave him?” How could this happen to an educated man from the Midwest with a good family?

The next day I received another call from my mother letting me that Kevin had passed. I learned much more of my brother’s life after his death; not much of it good. Throughout my life, the power of pray was amazing and worked. I’d seen it many times with my church family. My only hope is that now God is holding him close so Kevin feels his addiction was not the heart and soul of his being. Addiction had taken over his life and my hopes to see him again, to hear his voice, to hug him, dissolved.

This is a scenario repeated in far too many families. But as stated in Romans 8:28, for those who are God-conscious and listening to His Spirit, some good will develop from it. In this case, Lisa was drawn to take on the organization of a large street ministry at her church, feeding hundreds of people each month.

The street ministry from Oakhurst United Methodist Church is the perfect way for me to lift up my brother by feeding the homeless. I think of him while I’m there. The faces of those being served each have a story. They may be there due to addiction, health reasons that prevent work or a financial crisis in their life. I see my brother’s face in them. When I pray with them, I feel I’m praying with my brother standing next to me.

Free Will

Due to the lack of communication with his family, it isn’t possible to know what Kevin’s relationship was with God during his adult life. The choice to take drugs, which then turned into an addiction, doesn’t mean Kevin turned his back on God. The addiction may have been a battle for him that he lost.

However, if Kevin did give up the faith of his youth, this is the option that God provides which we call Free Will. God wants us to have communion with Him by our own choice. He is not going to force anyone to value their life more, to act in a certain way, or to use their resources reasonably, even if many others pray that He will.

A thorough discussion of Free Will delves deeply into philosophy and there are many well developed as well as vague views on the subject. Below are abridgements of a few of them that may give you some insight.

The Catholic View of Free Will

The Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church asserts that “Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will”. It goes on to say that “God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions. God willed that man should be ‘left in the hand of his own counsel, so that he might of his own accord seek his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him.” It concludes with the role that grace plays, “By the working of grace the Holy Spirit educates us in spiritual freedom in order to make us free collaborators in his work in the Church and in the world.”

Catholic Christianity’s views on free will and grace are often contrasted with predestination in Reformed Protestant Christianity, especially after the Counter-Reformation, but in understanding differing conceptions of free will it is just as important to understand the differing conceptions of the nature of God, focusing on the idea that God can be all-powerful and all-knowing even while people continue to exercise free will.

Oriental Orthodox View of Free Will

The Oriental Orthodox church explains that the more one follows one’s conscience, the more it brings one good results, and the more one follows one’s arrogance, the more it brings one bad results. Following only one’s arrogance is sometimes likened to the dangers of falling into a pit while walking in pitch darkness, without the light of conscience to illuminate the path.

Eastern Orthodox View of Free Will

Some Eastern Orthodox Christians use the parable of a drowning man to plainly illustrate their teaching regarding free will; God from the ship throws a rope to a drowning man, pulls him up, saving him, and the man, if he wants to be saved, must hold on tightly to the rope; explaining both that salvation is a gift from God and man cannot save himself, and that man must co-work with God in the process of salvation.

The Methodist View of Free Will

Christians who were influenced by the teachings of Jacobus Arminius (such as Methodists) believe that while God is all-knowing and always knows what choices each person will make, He still gives them the ability to choose or not choose everything, regardless of whether there are any internal or external factors contributing to that choice.

The Lutheran View of Free Will

Lutherans adhere to the teaching that Humanity is free to choose and act in every regard except for the choice of salvation. Luther used Jesus’ image of “a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:18). Like the bad tree that can only produce bad fruit, before a rebirth through faith, people are in bondage to the sinful desires of their hearts. They only want to do bad. Luther concluded that, without a spiritual rebirth, the “free choice” that all humans possess is “not free at all” because it cannot of itself free itself from its inherent bondage to sin.

The Anabaptist View of Free Will

The Anabaptist movement was characterized by the fundamental belief in the free will of man. Denominations today representing this view include Old Order Mennonites, Amish, and Conservative Mennonites.

The New Church View of Free will

As an example of one of the deeper philosophical views, Emanuel Swedenborg, upon whose writings the New Church is founded, argued that if God is love itself, people must have free will. If God is love itself, then He desires no harm to come to anyone: and so, it is impossible that he would predestine anyone to hell. On the other hand, if God is love itself, then He must love things outside of Himself; and if people do not have the freedom to choose evil, they are simply extensions of God, and He cannot love them as something outside of Himself. In addition, Swedenborg argues that if a person does not have free will to choose goodness and faith, then all of the commandments in the Bible to love God and our neighbors are worthless, since no one can choose to do them – and it is impossible that a God, who is love itself and wisdom itself, would give impossible commandments.

The Islamic View of Free Will

Disputes about free will in Islam began with the Mu’tazili vs Hanbali disputes, with the Mu’tazili arguing that humans had qadar, the capacity to do right or wrong, and thus deserved the reward or punishment they received, whereas Hanbali insisted on God’s jabr, or total power and initiative in managing all events. Schools that developed around earlier thinkers searched for ways to explain how both human qadar and divine jabr could be asserted at the same time. Ash’ari develops a “dual agency” or “acquisition” account of free will in which every human action has two distinct agents; God creates the possibility of a human action with his divine jabr, but then the human follows through and “acquires” the act, making it theirs and taking responsibility for it using their human qadar

The Hindu View of Free will

In Hinduism the Advaita (monistic) schools generally believe in a fate-based approach, and the Dvaita (dualistic) schools are proponents for the theory of free will. The Bhagavad Gita also states: “Nor does the Supreme Lord assume anyone’s sinful or pious activities (Bhagavad Gita 5.15).  From wherever the mind wanders due to its flickering and unsteady nature, one must certainly withdraw it and bring it back under the control of the self (Bhagavad Gita 6.26)”, indicating that God does not control anyone’s will, and that it is possible to control the mind.

The Judaic View of Free will

In Judaism, the belief in free will is closely linked with the concept of reward and punishment, based on the Torah itself: “I [God] have set before you life and death, blessing and curse: therefore, choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19). God exists outside of time, and therefore, his knowledge of the future is exactly the same as his knowledge of the past and present. Just as his knowledge of the past does not interfere with man’s free will, neither does his knowledge of the future.

Conclusion

If you so choose, there is much to ponder and study regarding free will  and you may even develop your own thought.

Relevant Scripture

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!”  Luke 13:34 (NKJV)

One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord,
And He will repay him for his good deed. Proverbs 19:17  (NASB)

He who]is generous will be blessed,
For he gives some of his food to the poor.  Proverbs 22:9 (NASB)

And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 Berean Study Bible

References

http://www.theopedia.com/free-will

https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/Free-Will?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-Ijlg-7L4wIVC5-fCh2mMwmdEAAYAyAAEgIfyPD_BwE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_will_in_theology

 

boy in sleeveless T with hand at mouth brick background

A Shocking Number of Children are Vulnerable | Spiritual Meditations

On By Spiritual MeditationsIn People Helping People, Social IssuesLeave a comment

“It takes a village to raise a child”. This African proverb means that an entire community of people must interact with children for them to experience and grow in a safe environment.  My friends, Amanda and Nathan, took this to heart….then didn’t think it was enough.

Convicted by Their Faith in Jesus

My wife, Amanda, and I have been reading, learning, thinking, and praying about the great need that children have for a loving home, a stable environment, security, and support. Our hearts break when we see children enter into our “spheres of existence” who lack these things.

After getting to know a number of people, in very personal ways, who became foster parents, we found ourselves naturally reading about it. All of this noticing, learning, and reading led us directly to praying about it. Praying, “Lord, please raise up enough stable families for these children. Please call people who are willing and able to love those who need to be loved…”.

We started moving in directions that would lead us to a more direct influence on the lives of the children we know. Through our participation in youth sports leagues, Amanda’s job move to pediatrics, kids we know through the church, and mentoring at the high school, we noticed even more need. We had started to do something about it.

Yet in our reading, learning, thinking, and praying, we still felt this wasn’t enough. After doing everything we could think of to be involved and give back to the lives of the children who need it, we were finally convinced and convicted that we were called to do something more.  We then arrived at the decision to become foster parents and are nearing the end of the process of certification now.

When I talk about active discipleship, I like to think I’m talking about something I’m endeavoring to live out. I’ll be honest, there are times I preach something and it is born more out of self-examination than experience. Yet this is a time when I see a clear parallel in my life, because my wife and I both view this calling to fostering as being connected to our journey as disciples of Jesus.

Following Jesus, to us, means caring for the most vulnerable, feeding others, providing clothing for those who cannot clothe themselves, and so on. Is there a more tangible sign that we believe these things to be true, than fostering children….the children who Jesus cares for a great deal?

Active discipleship, to me, means putting the beliefs and faith I have (about who Jesus is, who Jesus loves, and what the church should believe) into action in my life at home. I don’t always get it right (just the other day I apologized to someone for not being gracious), but sometimes I hope I do. And I believe this might be one of those times.

Fostering isn’t for everyone. Heck, after we care for a few children it might not even be for us. But we all have ways in which we can be more intentional about putting our faith into action, about living out our faith while “on mission” in the world. I encourage you to examine yourself and ask how you are living your life on mission or how you might start in some area.

What would it look like to put some component of what you’ve learned and believe about Jesus into action? You might be surprised where it leads you, and you might just change a little part of the world to look more like heaven.

–Pastor Nathan

Orphans – a Worldwide Crisis

This is one busy family making a difference in the lives of several vulnerable children. “It takes a village to raise a child”, so there is room for all of us to contribute and our village has become worldwide.  The IHH Humanitarian and Social Research Center produced a lengthy report in June 2018 that is overwhelming in its scope and implication.  Here are a few excerpts:

Wars, invasions, conflicts etc. are all crises which lead to an increase in the number of orphans. Currently, the crises prevailing in Eastern Turkistan, Syria, Nigeria, Iraq, Somali, Mali, Sudan, Palestine, Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Arakan, and Pattani leads to ever increasing numbers of orphans in these areas. Natural disasters also leave behind many orphans. The tsunami that hit South Asia, the earthquakes in Haiti and Pakistan, and the drought in East Africa, have all left millions of children orphans.

11 countries with most orphans

Children account for one of every three asylum seekers in Europe. In 2016, more than 63,000 unaccompanied children reached Europe.  Since the outbreak of the refugee crisis following the war in Syria, 480,000 children have crossed the border into Greece. 5,174 of these were not accompanied by any adults.  During these exhausting journeys, the children are exposed to many problems such as violence and sexual abuse, whereas the greatest danger is that posed by human traffickers. According to studies, tens of thousands of the children, who had arrived in Europe after overcoming such major obstacles, were lost.  96,465 of all the children who filed asylum applications in European countries in 2015 are now unaccounted for.

Approximately 33% of the people in question in Germany, the country hit hardest by the flow of refugees towards Europe, are children.  According to a report published in 2017, more than 350,000 children who applied for asylum in Germany are housed at unsafe locations while reviews are pending, and many may be exposed to physical, psychological and sexual violence during that uncertain period.

In the first half of 2016, approximately 26,000 children, who reached the border of the US, were found to be unaccompanied by any adults.  In the US, approximately 3 million children strive to maintain a life without parents. Each year approximately 22,000 babies in the US are abandoned in hospitals, while 2,000 to 3,000 kids are left as orphans due one of the parents killing the other. 60% of these kids are assigned to foster families as a result of exposure to domestic violence and abuse, while a further 17% are assigned to foster parents due to the death, imprisonment, disability or illness of the parents. These studies reveal that the children living under such conditions have difficulties in adapting to the society, and often face violence, abuse, and ill treatment sometimes at the hands of foster families. As with the case of any orphan, these children also have difficulties in many areas of life, such as education.

Today, 153 million orphans are registered around the globe. Yet, estimates of the actual figure range above 400 million. This is because it is impossible to get an accurate count of the children who live on the streets or who have been kidnapped or conscripted.

street traffick soldiers graph

The Magnitude of Child Abuse

A UN report published in 2014 on global child abuse states that one out of every 10 girls suffer sexual abuse.  (See also Generations of Women Endure Abuse)  The report is based on data from 190 countries, and notes that in 2012, 95,000 children and teenagers were murdered.

This is the leading reason of death of boys aged 10-19 in Latin American and Caribbean countries such as Brazil, Guatemala, Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela.

Reports produced by the UN again reveal that in 58 countries, 17% of children face severe physical punishments. Another noteworthy point raised in the report is the fact that three out of every 10 adults consider such punishment as a necessary element in raising a child.

child abuse stats

Conclusion

The numbers are overwhelming and make us feel helpless to make any improvement.  However, we are many and like the Butterfly Effect if we each make an effort to enhance the life of one child, it can result in a large difference overall.

The impact of child poverty, which is an alarming development for any country,  unfortunately, is usually permanent.  Consider the impact of many permanently damaged children, now adults, on our communities.  Like Nathan and Amanda, we can all do something to help grow healthy people.  If you are interested and unable to find a volunteer opportunity to make an impact in your community, please consider UNICEF.

Relevant Scripture:

1 John 3:18
Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.

2 Esdras 2:20
“Guard the rights of the widow, secure justice for the ward, give to the needy, defend the orphan, clothe the naked,

Matthew 10:42
“And if, as my representatives, you give even a cup of cold water to a little child, you will surely be rewarded.”

Matthew 18:10
“Beware that you don’t look down upon a single one of these little children. For I tell you that in heaven their angels have constant access to my Father.

Mark 9:37
“Anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my name is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming my Father who sent me!”

brown and white buffalo face each other metaphor for ethnic groups, avoid prejudice, love neighbors

Who are Your Neighbors? | Spiritual Meditations

On By Spiritual MeditationsIn Social Issues, Your Spiritual LifeLeave a comment

I’m sure you are aware of the relationship between lack of experience and fear.   How many times have you said to someone “I would never do that” after they have described an experience you felt was risky? But with more knowledge, encouragement or courage, you find yourself doing the very thing you previously feared.

Let’s Talk

If you haven’t tried anything new lately, I encourage you to think of something you’ve always wanted to do and go do it.  We grow as a result of new experiences and meeting new people, especially people who are different from us.  Some of my most memorable and gratifying experiences have been with people whose first language was not English.  When I was a teenager, I remember thinking that people speaking a ‘foreign’ language within my hearing were rude or saying something derogatory about me or somebody I was with, when actually they were probably talking about what they were going to make for dinner.  Wow, was I the center of my universe or what?

It’s fun to talk to strangers… certainly not scary.  Some would even say it’s healthy and improves the quality of life of those involved.  I listened to a TED talk with Kio Stark this week.  She talks about how much she loves to talk to strangers and the expression of humanity it provides to herself and those she speaks to.  I gave it a try 3 times this week and enjoyed each experience.  It was a win..  Her “Why You Should Talk to Strangers”  video is only 12 minutes and watching it will lift your spirits.   (Take a look at my first blog post God’s Faithfulness Changed My Life to learn how God encouraged me to talk to strangers and how He used that conversation to change my life.)

In a Huffington Post article written by Emma Brancatisano, Jasmine Sliger, a cross-cultural counselling and organizational psychologist, said we should all be talking more.

“We don’t usually allow ourselves to be outside of our comfort zone. And [talking to a stranger] can be challenging, because we don’t know what is on the other side,” Sliger said. “It depends on your personality. Some have more of a natural sense of social engagement than others.”

“If you have a close friend who is more extroverted than you, go out with them and observe how they interact,” Sliger said. “Then, start by carrying out some social experiments. Begin talking to people or acknowledging them.”

“The best place to start is to show appreciation to those who are in your service. You’re acknowledging that they’re a human being and that you appreciate what they’ve done for you. Start there. Whether that be the guy who makes your soy latte in the morning or the friendly woman at your local deli, start simply. By doing this, you’re acknowledging that they’re a human being and that you appreciate what they’ve done for you. Start there,” Sliger said.

“I think we live in a world today where there is so much fear — whether that be of refugees or the person next to us…It even borders on paranoia. We are getting hampered more and more by messages of fear and this leads to people creating stereotypical fears. You can’t walk alone, you can’t let your children out of your sight and you need to talk to them about stranger danger. Whilst I believe you need to do these things, the message can be overplayed. And that is detrimental to the growth of a person.”

Fear – Nature and Nurture

Fear is a primal instinct.  Our very early ancestors learned that if you are approached by a stranger, it is safer to consider them an enemy and be ready to fight or flight, rather than consider them a friend and be wrong…a potentially fatal mistake.

Layered on top of the primal instinct, a person may lack confidence  They may have had a  traumatic childhood experiences.  They are likely to be influence by parents, teachers, family and friends, whose perspectives and ideas may not be helpful in developing a mentally healthy individual.  This is how prejudice gets passed from generation to generation. And this concoction of fear and prejudice is stirred and agitated by exaggerated negative TV news.

You Decide What Your Fears Are

But being afraid of strangers does not have to be a life-long condition.  Jack Schafer PhD explains “that the first step is understanding when and how the fear appeared.  The second step is to acknowledge strangers” who have helped humanity, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa.  “The third, to face the fear and start interacting with strangers.”  The more experience you have with different people, the less fearful you will be of their ‘stereotype’.  And there are big differences between people within what you may consider a group or type of people.  We use the most obvious characteristic to create our stereotypical groups, while the people we put in those groups are really so different.  How similar are you to the people you know and would consider to be in your group?  You will see differences in personality and values among them.  And there are just as many personalities among every stereotypical group you can think of.

The Potential for Hate and Hate Crimes

Not all stereotypical fear of strangers (prejudice) is going to elevate to hate crimes, but we need to be aware of the potential.  How many times have families ignored or rationalized a family member’s association with haters and people using violent rhetoric?

In Psychology Today, Dr. Schafer explains “Hate masks personal insecurities.  Not all insecure people are haters, but all haters are insecure people.  Hate elevates the hater above the hated.  Haters cannot stop hating without exposing their personal insecurities.  Haters can only stop hating when they face their insecurities”.  So let’s do our best to accept and extend agape love to everyone.  I, for one, do not want to be a contributing factor in the development of  people becoming fuel for hate crime combustion.

According to the analysts with The Conversation in their June 2018 article

Hate crime totals for the 10 largest cities [in the US] rose for four straight years to the highest level in a decade.

Nationally, levels in 2014 were the lowest since national reporting began in 1992, according to the FBI. Since then, hate crimes have steadily increased. In 2016, the last year with FBI totals available, hate crimes were up 11.7 percent compared to 2014.

We see three factors behind the moderate overall increases in 2016. First, there was a precipitous spike around the election. Second, on top of sustained levels of hate crimes against African-Americans, and a small increase against Jews, were larger percentage increases against other groups. Third, hate crimes increased by double-digit percentages in several large states, including New York, California, Florida and Illinois.

Are We Good Neighbors?

God doesn’t get into the psychology and statistics of it, but His wisdom tells us to be kind to strangers:

Exodus 22:21     Do not mistreat a stranger or oppress a foreigner for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Leviticus 19:34    But the stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you and you shall love him as yourself for you were strangers in the land of Egypt:  I am the Lord your God.

Hebrews 13:2    Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some have unwittingly entertained angels.

Luke 10:25-37    The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”  27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”  28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”  30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’  36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”  37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”  Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

So who are your neighbors?  Jesus is saying everyone is your neighbor, love your neighbor as yourself, do to others as you would want others to do to you.

Our Inner Being is God and God is Love, so we can’t help but love our fellow man / strangers / brothers.  Their Inner Being also is God.  John tells us in I John 4:20 “If a man says ‘I love God’ and hates his brother, he is a liar. for if he doesn’t love his brother, who he can see, how can he love God , who he can’t see”.

In the 25th chapter of Matthew, Jesus says ‘What you have done to the least of my brethren, you have done to me”.  Joel S.Goldsmith, in his book Practicing the Presence, adds a karmic interpretation to these words.  We are all One spirit of God.  “God is the Selfhood of every individual…and the injustice that I am doing to another, I am doing to myself.  The lack of thoughtfulness that I show to another, I am showing to myself.”

Forgiveness

Unfortunately, not everyone has tapped into the their Inner Being of love.  So we must learn to pray “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do”.  and pray that their eyes will be opened to the Truth.

If there are individuals with whom we are not on harmonious terms, we find, as we turn within [pray, meditate, listen to God] and pray that brotherly love and harmony be established between us, that instead of enemies, we come into a relationship of spiritual brotherhood with them.  Our relationship with everyone then takes on a harmony and a heretofore unknown joy.

This is not possible as long as we feel antagonism toward anyone.  If we are harboring within us personal animosity, or if we are indulging in national or religious hatred, prejudice or bigotry, our prayers are worthless.  We must go to God with clean hand in order to pray, and to approach God with clean hands we must relinquish our animosities.  Within ourselves we must first pray the prayer of forgiveness for those that have offended us, since ‘they know that what they do’.

It is not only inconsistent, but hypocritical to talk about the Christ and our great love of God in one breath and in the next breath, speak disparagingly of a neighbor who is of a different race, creed, nationality, political affiliation, or economic status. One cannot be the child of God as long as he persecutes or hates anyone or anything, but only as he lives in a consciousness of no judgement or condemnation.

Joel S Goldsmith, excerpt from Practicing the Presence

Conclusion

Many of our fears are irrational.  But we can overcome our natural tendencies to fear strangers.  When it comes to people, the more contact we have with a diverse population, the fewer fears and prejudice we will have. Our lives will also be much richer and interesting for the experience.  Let’s appreciate the differences.  You may be as different to them as they are to you.  And your interaction could lead to greater acceptance and compassion for all parties involved.  Each person is God’s unique creation and we don’t need to assigned to them some made-up group.  Strike up a conversation with 3 strangers this week and let me know how it goes.  I’d love to hear about it.

Although He doesn’t always give us explanations, God’s direction, as written in scripture and as written on your heart, will lead you to a more fulfilling and meaningful life.  God is clear?  Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.  Love your neighbor as yourself.