Lacking artistic ability, I have always wanted to draw a picture of this: "And he beheld Satan, and he had a great chain in his hand, and it veiled the whole earth in darkness; and he looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced." (Moses 7:26)
I've always envisioned a picture of the earth superimposed on the chest of Satan, with his head thrown back in open laughter. Hands on either side of the earth held heavy chains which stretched underneath and across, nestling the earth reminiscent as if in a hammock.
I wonder if this is what God sees when He looks down from heaven on to the earth?
This is a picture of Gaza taken by Alexander Gerst from the International Space Station, on fire from all the rocket fire. I couldn't find an aerial picture of the masses of illegal aliens at the border, but I've worked in a refugee camp for a long period of time, so I know what it looks like.
I wondered: why is it that the earth is bound in chains? Surprisingly, the answer was found a few short verses away:
"The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;
"And unto thy brethren have I said and also given commandment that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood."
Could it really be that simple? Could the majority of the earth's problems disappear if we would treat each other with kindness, civility and genuine warmth?
In the past California primary, a person running for office was usually greeted at every stump by angry, truly angry, people who didn't like a letter he signed supporting immigration reform (as though our immigration policy does not need reform.) I mean, they were mad and screaming. I read comments from readers on The Blaze after Glenn Beck announced he was taking supplies and toys down to the border. Angry, screaming, resentful, acidic vitriolic. And those were the people who generally like Glenn Beck. The nastiness from the #FreePalestine, Hamas supporters is truly vile and scary.
I've lived and worked in life threatening danger zones. I am not saying one should not take a stand. But I am saying you can take a stand without anger, without hatred, without blood thirsty animosity. You can stand for the right, and stand for truth, and do the right thing without the bitterness, rancor, and enmity. A great example of that right now is Israel. They are doing what needs to be done to defend themselves and put an end to it, but they are doing it without joy. There is no joy that they are having to do this, no joy that Hamas chooses to use civilians as human shields. At each opportunity to have peace (cease fire) Israel stands quietly, ready to accept peace.
Thomas Monson said something recently which was hard to for me to hear. He said "We cannot truly love God if we do not love our fellow travelers on this mortal journey." (April 6, 2014 LDS General Conference.)
WHAT? I cannot truly love God if I do not love that jerk down the road I can't stand? WHAT? I know what it means to truly love someone. It doesn't mean I let them walk all over me, but it means I care about their well being. I take action to bind up their wounds, and lift up the hands which hang down. That is a hard, hard thing to do.
It's hard when there are 30,000 of them illegally crossing our borders. It's hard when you're living in a bomb shelter. It's hard when "yours" are going without medical care, homes, work but you see "theirs" being given all that.
But I can focus on a solution, rather than be part of the problem. I can teach a man to fish as it were, while sending him back to his own country. (I can take his fingerprints and photograph and put it into AFIS so I know who he is, too!) I can demonstrate by my actions and set an example and instill the habit of kindness and self reliance, and hope that it spreads. After all, if one can spread hatred and resentment by example, can we not spread kindness and acceptance the same way?
I remember two brothers, Palestinian from Jordan, whom I knew in college. One, set in his ways, angry, resentful that Israel existed, ready then (and now) to take up arms to destroy anything and anyone on the 'other side.' His brother came to have a different worldview, saw a path where two nations who were promised the same land, could live side by side, if they choose to live in peace and harmony, rather than fighting to the death over which of them was in the right.
Which is the harder path to follow: kindness or enmity? We stand at the fork in the road, with the fate of the world resting upon our decision.
We should choose wisely.
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