It’s the week of February 14 - Valentine’s Day. It’s a
good week to write about love. :)
I don’t know about you, but I sure have a lot of
love in my life. My faith reminds me I am loved (by God) simply because I was
born (not because of what I can or cannot do). I am loved
unconditionally even when I mess up over and over. How good is that! Then of
course my husband, my children, my grandchildren, my siblings and a ton of
in-laws plus a great group of friends (old and new) give me a pretty terrific
life of loving and being loved. Besides that, I love walking, reading, writing,
laughing, and connecting with people. Plus I love chocolate, cheese, and a good
cup of tea!! And that is not the end of my 'list' of LOVE's.
I know there are probably lots of people this week who feel unloved and unlovable. God
created the world to be a place of mutual relationships and the human spirit to
be caring and helpful, affectionate and kind. Yet, many people are targets of being
dishonored, disgraced, and forgotten. I just finished reading a book
called “Leading with Dignity – how to create a culture that brings out the best
in people” by Dr. Donna Hicks. It’s an excellent read that defines dignity as ‘our inherent
value and worth’ - what we were born with. To simply be human is to
have dignity. In a nutshell – love and honor yourself, don’t allow anyone to
rob it, and then honor dignity in others. When we honor
dignity, we all thrive so much better in our relationships and in our world as
a whole.
A great illustration in this book is what the author calls the
“Mandella conscious”. When Nelson Mandella entered Robben Island prison in
South Africa (where he would spend 27 years), he realized from the outset what
the guards were trying to do to him and the other prisons – strip them of their
dignity. Mandella’s response? “Prison and the
authorities conspire to rob each man of his dignity. In and of itself, that
assured me that I would survive, for any man or institution that tries to rob
me of my dignity will lose because I will not part with it at any price or
under any pressure.” (A Walk to Remember).
Dr. Hicks worked in the field of international conflict for 25
years. She finishes her book with this comment: “It has taken me a
long while to figure out that at its core, conflict is created in the absence
of love, and if we want to bring an end to violence and suffering in the world,
we need to get better at loving – practicing the art of loving through the honoring
of dignity.”
Morris and I were sharing with a group of officers over the past
weekend. We used a current phrase being used by the General of The Salvation
Army: “Battle Ready”. As Christians, we believe in the principle of
spiritual warfare against evil. The Bible teaches us to combat evil
with love in order for hope to be present in our broken world. At
our Officers Councils, I chose to speak about ‘the weapon of love’ as the
foundation for winning this battle over evil. (Morris did a study on the ‘full
armor God’ for the battle – talking about truth, faith, holy living, the
Scriptures, and prayer.)
As I talked about love to the officers, I declared that love seems
so basic. Dr. Hicks in her book says the same thing. At the core, loving others
by honoring their dignity "is as simple and straightforward as that”.
Yet we don’t always get it. And we don’t always action it. Why else is there so
much conflict – in families, in workplaces, and in the world at large.
Evelyn Lindner, a German-Norweigian medical doctor and
psychologist, defines love as “the principle around
which we live and organize our lives and the world. Love - forceful, fierce,
and big - is the only true antidote to humiliation. Love is what heals. Love is
a force that can be used or wasted.”
On Sunday at a Divisional worship gathering, with probably 800+
people gathered 'under the trees' for worship, I saw love in action when a
couple gentleman who appeared to have some emotional or mental health problems
were quite welcomed to participate in what was happening and were not shunned.
They danced to their own delight and their dignity was honored. There
may have been some smiles because these folks are not bashful in how they
present themselves, but they were embraced and no one was robbing their dignity.
No matter how many times I read about the life of Jesus, I
honestly cannot find any better example to follow. There is so much to learn
about love from his life. Seriously, even if you are not a believer, you surely
can’t refute what Jesus taught. Jesus embodied love in action and
showed us how to do it too - help the person who cannot pay you back, choose
forgiveness instead of retaliation, increase someone’s self-esteem in place of
shaming, be kind instead of rude, and understand without judging.
I hope this week we not only celebrate love, but we find new ways
to put it into action – how about honoring the dignity of someone who just
might not feel dignified. Whatever you are doing on Thursday, do a little
extra LOVING! I’m pretty sure it will be well worth it.
Much LOVE,
Wanda & Morris
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