There was a question on a message board asking about the worst piece of advice you had ever received. I thought about it, and I couldn’t think about anything in particular, but I did have an answer. Any advice with the word “don’t” or “can’t” was always going to be at the top of my list. The reason being that advice wasn’t about building me up; it was about setting limitations.
It’s the difference between God’s greatest commandments and the Ten Commandments. When I look at the Ten Commandments, there are some that are positive like honoring the Sabbath or honoring your parents, but there are also ones that are negative like not killing or not committing adultery. However, when I look at the greatest commandments, they aren’t negative at all. I just have to hold God above all else and to love my neighbor as myself.
It seems simple, but as I have been writing this blog these past years, it is anything but simple. Holding God above all else is a challenge. There are so many other things in life that seem to be more important and falling into the trap of letting something else become more important is so easy. It takes hard work, mindfulness, and diligence to keep God at the center of my life. Then, to love my neighbor as myself is a true struggle. First, I have to learn to really love myself. Next, I have to extend that same love to my neighbors and while some people are easy to love, there are many people out in the world that I find difficult to love and yet, I have to open my heart to them.
The amazing part is if I open my heart to these two commandments, the rest of the Ten Commandments will follow. If I open my heart to the miracle of God’s love, then the world is full of possibility where miracles can happen. In the Gospels, Jesus performed miracles and He told the apostles that they could do the same in His name. I believe that it means that once I accept God’s love into my heart, everything and anything is possible. I don’t want to hear people tell me about what I can’t do because of God; I want to know what I am capable of because of God’s love.
When I was in my twenties, a friend took me to go speak with a Baptist minister. The minister asked me if I thought mankind was basically good or basically evil. I didn’t know what to answer so I tried to think about what he wanted me to say and I answered basically evil. He was surprised and said that man is basically good. It is sad, but most religions focus on the shortcomings of humankind and how they need to turn to the church for salvation.
God knows me and what’s inside my heart. He knows that with faith in Him, everything is possible. I have everything and nothing inside of me and that’s all I will ever need.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
