The common good requires all to be respected.
Please discuss. How does this play out in life?
I’ll start us out. Recent events have lead to many of us feeling even more polarized than usual. We’re appalled and incensed by the words and actions of those with whom we disagree. Struggling to find anything in common with them, we find it hard to be neutral, much less charitable, toward them.
In our outrage, it’s difficult to remember that our divisiveness only prolongs the hatred and unrest we decry. The more we demonize others, the more we take on the traits we despise in them. Those we denounce are showing us unhealed portions of ourselves. Where are we selfish, single-minded, prejudiced, entitled, self-aggrandizing, dishonest, or aggressive? How do we disrespect ourselves and others?
Today’s message reminds me that we are all—every being and thing—part of a divine whole. We are all equally worthy, created of divine love, deserving of fairness and respect. My perceptions of others are colored by my self-beliefs. If I don’t like what’s going on around me, I’ll want to shift what’s going on inside me. When I love and respect myself, and the rest of creation by extension, the world becomes brighter and more peaceful.
How about you? Are you struggling to respect all equally?