A Different Street.

Chapter One.

   I walk down a street. There is a deep hole. I fall in. I am lost. I am helpless. It isn't my fault. It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter Two

   I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend not to see it. I can't believe I'm in the same place again. It is not my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter Three

   I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it there. I still fall in. It is a habit. My eyes are opened. I recognize where I am.  It is my fault.  I get out immediately.   

Chapter Four

   I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.  I walk around it.

Chapter Five

   I walk down a different street.

         Author unknown - Quoted from a class lecture by Dr. James B. Richards

   Okay, so those of you who know me know that I am not a politics kind of guy.  If I were to show up to a conversation on politics I would quite literally be talking out of my hat. As in little political phrases I found online scribbled on ripped up paper stored in my hat. Me praying that what ever I draw out is applicable to what we're talking about. You sitting across from me trying not to show on your face that you think I'm a total idiot.

   That said, I am pretty interested in all that is happening in Egypt and Libya right now. I am also, from my very uneducated perception, pretty thrilled with what we, the U.S. are doing about it. We're not really doing anything. We seem to be waiting and letting those folks build they're own stories. I hope it sticks, both the revolution and our involvement.

   All ready in my circle of friends I hear a lot of insisting that they need our help. My Christian friends seem to think that the rebels are waisting they're time because they don't have Jesus,

"They'll never make it because God won't let them."  

   I find that pretty lame and honestly contradictory to the bible we claim.  Do we actually read that thing or what?  

   My military buddies insist that only the good ol' U.S.A. knows true democracy. My friend Bob pointed out something interesting though.  In response he said,

"We have only to offer the mistakes we made ourselves.  I mean  the American Revolution didn't exactly go great and lets not even talk about our ideas of democracy that lead to the Civil War.  If you need more proof than that then let's look at current day Iraq." - paraphrased. 

Not a lot of responses were given in return.

   I'm not trying to toot the current governmental horn here. As stated I'm not really qualified for that. I do however want to point out an opportunity we have to learn from our world's events. We have a chance to walk down a different street.

   How can we support our brothers and sisters? Not our American family and Religious families, though they are important, I mean our Libyan family, our cousins in Iraq, our beloved humans in Afghanistan, (or any other country in the whole world) our Brothers and Sisters of Mankind.  

   Can we pray for they're success outside of insisting on conversion or western thinking? Can we come along'side the world around us with out saying - You need what I have - and instead support them in building they're own legacies, they're own cultures, they're own stories.

   Consider this, 

Fellowship: A bound binding us beyond our cultural, religious, social and political views.  

   Can we fellowship? And especially for my Christian family - I cannot find a place where our Jesus ask anyone to believe in him before he helped them. Miracles and Justice were always offered only because he loved us.

   - Latsum