Positive Impact

I was sitting down working on the computer while my granddaughter was in the room.  She was getting into just about everything she could see and get her hands on. She would even try to climb up to things she couldn’t reach. I was continually redirecting her as things came down, were turned on, were handed to me or found resting on her head or around her neck.

Ever so often, I would hear her say “uh oh.” I would look over and see a new mess. I began to think how this is the story of some people’s life. Uh oh is a phrase used to express alarm, dismay or realization of a difficulty. This is one of the first expressions that a child learns. It’s a good thing to have a curious and exploring spirit throughout our lives but as we mature we should have fewer uh oh’s as we learn to think before we act.

If uh oh is the story of your life, maybe it’s time to grow up a bit. Be willing to be corrected and learn from your mistakes. Have fun, be adventurous, be willing to make mistakes; but to whatever extent possible, prepare, count the cost, and consider the impact of your actions on yourself and others. It makes life a lot easier for you and those around you.

Have a blessed day. I’m going help someone clean up their mess.

Guest Post by Bob Kuhn (Positive Impact Board Member)

Several years ago, I was preparing a sermon on a verse found in Matthew 22: 39, “… Love your neighbor as yourself.” This was the second part of Jesus’ response to a question about the greatest commandment of Jewish law. He claimed that the command to love your neighbor as yourself is only second to, and in many ways equal to, the command to love God. Being one of the two commands that Jesus ranked above all others, I knew that loving one’s neighbor as oneself was not to be taken lightly. In fact, I understood it to be at the very foundation of Christianity. Although I grasped its importance, my research soon made me realize that I missed its impact. It seems that the word “as” was being misunderstood.

My online search for commentaries on the all important commandment led me to a sermon by Methodist Bishop F. Gerald Ensley titled, “On Loving One’s Neighbor As One’s Self.” This was a keynote address delivered at the Second Methodist Conference on Human Relations held in Chicago during the high-point of the civil rights movement in the early 1960s. In his sermon, Bishop Ensley points out that the “separate-but-equal” philosophy, which was prevalent during that time, was not in accord with the type of love described by the commandment Jesus quoted. The Bishop explains that the type of love we are called to observe is more of a qualitative love than quantitative love. Quantitative love would mean that we love our neighbors “as-much-as” we love ourselves. In other words, we desire as much good for him or her as we do for ourselves, thus justifying the separate-but-equal idea of segregation. Qualitative love goes a step beyond. Loving your neighbor as yourself, according to the Bishop, is loving “not as much as yourself but as though he were yourself. It means tying my sensibilities to my neighbor’s nerve-endings so that I feel things as he does.” (Ensley)

Considering our neighbor to be our equal can be different from considering our neighbor to be one with us. Bishop Ensley feels that equal in quantity is a good concept for a mathematical formula, but when speaking of equality among human beings, we need to take a different approach. In fact, qualitative love totally avoids the question of equality. Although there are differences, the concept of equality should not be applied to human qualities since none are intrinsically superior to any other. (Ensley)

While we no longer face the same issues of the early 1960s, such as separate-but-equal laws, we still struggle with attitudes similar to those common at that time. Even our language betrays our attitudes towards others. We often speak of Christian “outreach” instead of Christian embrace. We sometimes find it easier to condescendingly “give” what we think others should have, rather than try to find out what they want. To again quote Bishop Ensley, “Christian love … means tuning in on the other man’s aspirations.” (Ensley) This would mean that instead of treating others the way we think they should be treated, we show them the same type of dignity we would want to be shown.

I am far from being able to say that I truly love my neighbor “as” myself, but I am praying that I come closer daily to obeying the heart of that command. It is my hope that you would pray for the same.

Work Cited

Ensley, Bishop F. Gerald. “On Loving One’s Neighbor As One’s Self.” The Florida Methodist,

ed.Jack Detweiler, Editorial Director O.B. Fanning, Volume 23, No.4, (Sept. 15 1963): p. 5. From digitized document of The Florida Methodist, Volume 23, July 1963 – June 1965, p. 58. Digitizing sponsor: University of Florida, George A. Smathers Libraries. Digitized by The Internet Archive 2016. Web. 23 November 2017. <https://archive.org/stream/floridamethodist2319flor#page/n57/mode/2up>

I’ve begun working with a group of about 10 students on the development of a service learning project. It appears that this semester’s  identified cause will revolve around animal protection and care. This was not my selection but I thought, “Hey, it’s not about me.”  I was hoping they would choose a project around Peace, as the previous group had done. The world needs Peace (Inner peace, Non-violence, Equality, and Freedom). My attitude was that we don’t have time to focus on animals when people are hurting, dying on the streets, being treated unfairly and bound with all sorts of addictions. Once again I had to remind myself that it wasn’t about me.

Knowing that animal protection was not my specialty, I contacted the Louisiana SPCA and one of their community outreach coordinators came out and make a presentation. By the end of the presentation, I received a better appreciation for the importance of their work and my attitude about this project began to shift. Maybe our community could benefit from a little more attention to the needs of our four-legged friends.

I’ll leave it up to the students to develop their plan to make a difference in the plight of animal endangerment but I have to share one heart-wrenching statistic. Over 400 dogs are dropped off at the shelter in Algiers EVERY MONTH. Over a fourth of them don’t make it out.  If they could speak, they would have their own stories to share. The things that they witnessed and the human interactions they encountered are varied but they all find themselves in the same predicament.

It has been said that dogs are a man’s best friend. Would they say that about man. I believe the way a society treats animals is another reflection of the condition of its humanity. Dog’s can be a blessing to man when they are properly cared for. Let us all become more aware of the state of animal care and safety in our community. Maybe in doing so, we would notice a difference in our care for one another as well.

I will keep you informed of the development of the service project. Your help might be called upon in some way. Working together we can all make a difference in the symbiotic relationship between man and the rest of God’s creation. [Dogs included]