The Living Water Of Forgiveness

“Help me be the living water of forgiveness, God. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.”

It’s September of 2008 and I’m feeling very hopeful about the future of our country because so many people of faith have embraced Barack Obama.

Many have recognized that the policies of the Bush administration, in their essence, have been anti-Christian. (Really, now, would Jesus have started a war in Iraq?)

Still, as with everyone else, we must forgive those who deceived us, including President Bush who will, “strut out of office leaving the nation in roughly the same shape as a toddler leaves a diaper,” to paraphrase the editor in the June 2008 issue of Vanity Fair.

Because even when the current administration leaves office, we will not be out of the fire and we cannot waste any more energy on reciting the president’s ”sins” as they are endless.

We are called, instead, to forgive and visualize healing for the nation and the world.

Bin Laden’s Driver Tortured and Scapegoated

Yet, while I’m no longer angry about the mindless damage inflicted upon the country and upon Iraq, a story from a couple of weeks back about bin Laden’s driver being made a scapegoat for 9/11 made me flinch.

The man, whose name is Salim Ahmed Hamdan, has a fourth-grade education and was described during his trial as a “more primitive (Bedouin) person” who didn’t even believe in bin Laden’s ideology, but drove for him for the paycheck.

Of course he was tortured, to get a confession.

Yet, really, what did that driver do that most of us have not done? He went along with a powerful and wealthy person who was calling the shots.

His crime is that he didn’t try to stop anything. He just let things unfold and kept his eyes on his own small picture, his paycheck.

Who do you know who doesn’t do that?

Who pays attention, doesn’t close his eyes and speaks up when a wrong is about to be done even if it means he’ll lose his job, be shunned, threatened or even killed?

There weren’t many doing it in March of 2003, I can tell you because I was one of them and I felt the heat sear me.

If you want to feel hate, just question the wisdom of a war that everyone wants. The antagonism is breathtaking.

Opposition to the war against Iraq didn’t exist then. Just about everyone just worried about his own skin, whether he’d lose his job, lose his friends, or be looked upon as a terrorist sympathizer.

The result is that millions of Americans were complicit in creating the debacle in Iraq that has killed so many people, created so much misery and ravaged our economy.

(Perhaps if we were water-boarded and tortured, we would “confess” to our “crime” like bin Laden’s driver did.)

The point is, didn’t we close our eyes? Didn’t we make a decision not to care that other people would be killed?

You know about a hundred million or more Americans closed their eyes.

Since we thought we wouldn’t be hurt, we just said: “It’s not my business. I’m just worried about making a living here.”

Well, that’s what the driver said who is now charged with being a terrorist.

Yet, who’s going to draw that connection? Worse, who cares? Do you?

With our economic problems, you may be thinking: “I’m stressed out. I don’t have time to pay attention. The economy’s bad. I can’t do anything so I’m going to tune it all out.”

The Law Of Attraction At Work

But as a Christian, none of us can tune it out forever because The Law Of Attraction will bring back to us whatever we hand out to others.

Injustice to others tends to come knocking at our door, insistent that we meet it head on.

There’s no running away from our responsibility for our thoughts and our beliefs, or for our government when it takes inhumane actions.  As we sow, so shall we reap.

So how do we take care of ourselves if not through torture and war?

Jesus told us two thousand years ago: bless your enemies.

Yet it’s hard to bless your enemies when you are full of fear and hate, so you have to do the spiritual work necessary to connect with your Source and can release your fear.

So you do that: you bless and forgive and release fear.

And you take care of others because, from the larger perspective, we are all One.

This means means voting for compassionate and capable politicians who will govern for the good of all, including the poor, and not just those with money to host lavish convention parties.

As above so below. Everything you do – or you don’t do – has consequences.

And, personally, I think “render unto Caesar what is his” is easily interpreted as: “do your civic duty and vote.”

So ask God to help you balance your responsibilities on the small scale with your responsibilities on a larger scale.

Ask God to lift you out of the kind of fear that causes you to remain quiet when your government tortures hapless people in your name.

And if you want to read a great paper that you can trust on the issues, read The Christian Science Monitor.

PRAYER TO FOLLOW IN JESUS’ FOOTSTEPS

Dear God,

I am willing to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.

I am willing to walk a line of spiritual understanding
In which I actively promote lovingkindness
And social justice.

Help me perform whatever miracles you want of me today.

Help me mend the rifts in my soul.
Help me mend the rifts in my nation.
Help me mend the rifts in my world.
Help me be who you would have me be.

Amen.

“Would thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with they sword and with thy bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.” 2 Kings 6:22

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