Gangs and Bullies VII (Park)

For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh.

 - From Ephesians 6

When considered in the backdrop of eternal things - or, the great matters of Life and Death - our daily struggles, our frustrations, and our silly human political maneuverings, seem so pedestrian. 

Our Life and Death struggle has very little to do with how we feel from moment to moment. Our personal insecurities, our cravings and yearnings, our urgency to do something, anything, to solve the world's problems (translation: someone make me feel good!), are like ants compared to the eternal struggle between Good and Evil. And the eternal stakes are: Will humanity live? Or will humanity die?

If we have eternal life, who really cares what our gender is, or how we respond to the biological urge to reproduce, or whether or not the wealthiest people are charitable enough for us? 

Indeed, life is short. We can definitely make it through life, if we focused on others, and not ourselves; if we focused on food for everybody, rather than whether or not I like myself as I am. 

Gain eternal life, and you can probably have what you always wanted in this life. You probably will no longer want it, but you could have it easily, just the same.

These basics, from the Old Testament: Welcome aliens; care for widows and orphans; live a pure lifestyle - - - I think we can make it 70 or 80 years if those are our priorities (and not my own physical, temporal cravings). We can really make it. We can do this. 

Our desperate cravings, our impatience, our hyped-up emotions . . . we respond to them according to our feelings, and see two ways to deal with it:

 - Join a gang
 - Follow a bully

But neither solutions are sufficient because they only feed your problem, rather than helping you deal with it. 

And really - the enemy isn't some human, anyway. It's not a political figure or celebrity. It's not a massive crowd that is certain it's "on the right side of history."

The people in the crowd, and those bullies, are just people, too. They're no better or worse than you and me. The bully is insecure, and so are the people in the crowd. 

Have a little compassion for them. If you've read this far, you probably are better-adjusted than the people I've described. Be kind. They have the same eternal enemy - Death - that you have. We need to try to get on the same side with all the other miserable, lost humans. 

Gangs and bullies aren't the answer. You don't need them. But they might need you. 

Focus on the real enemy. Solve the real problems. Get over yourself and find someone that you can help.