Back in the mid 1990's, I had to visit a Ford Motor Company plant in Jaurez, Mexico. It was short trip, to investigate some problems with a product that was in charge of for the Allen-Bradley Company.
Coming back from the plant, the traffic crossing the USA/Mexico border was a crawl. It was very hot as well. Sweltering, would be the word. As we were slowly rolling, I noticed a woman and young girl, dressed in black clothing very ornately decorated with embroidery.
I asked the man driving the car, who was also an employee of the company, and from Mexico, if the woman and child were dressed in traditional Mexican clothing. He said, "Oh no. Those are Indians. They live up in the mountains, but there is a drought, and they come down here to beg for money." Upon hearing that, I reached for my wallet and started getting out of the car. I thought that twenty bucks to me, was nothing. Twenty bucks to them would mean food and water. The man driving the car I was in, started shouting at me to get back in, "GET BACK IN THE CAR!!" Startled, I got back in. He said, "If you give them money, they will never learn to take care of themselves!"
As the car, with me sitting stupidly in it, rolled through customs, I realized I had failed a big test. I let someone else tell me what was the right thing to do. I was ashamed of myself. I rarely think of biblical verses, but something Christ said popped into my head, "'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.....I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." I screwed up, big. What was $20 to me? Why would I let someone else tell me what was right and wrong? I have seen God a lot since them. Rarely it is when I see a thing of beauty. That's too easy, too obvious. It doesn't take a lot to see beauty in beauty. Can you see god in the homeless man you just passed on the street? Do you see God in the street walker, the crack whore? Do you see God in a death? What if everyone and everything else is God? What if everyone looking back at us, are looking at us through the eyes of God? What if, what if, what if? Is it so far fetched? Do you really think Jesus would be on TV in a suit and tie, with perfect hair and teeth, stumping for cash? Or do you think he would be hiding were you would have to look to find him? These are the questions I ask myself. Maybe you should ask yourself them too.
1 comment:
I wrote this at a time when I started to expand my knowledge of a higher "being" outside of the catholic church... I thought it paired well with your entire blog, however this excerpt in paticular. I do not write in this meter anymore- this is kind of juvenile, but I am happy to share it with you. Reading through your blog has really made a special place for you in my heart. Your words are refreshing and help me to remember to not be afraid to trust in the goodness of human kind. Thank you my friend.
I AM, YOU’RE NOT
In a world of confusion,
questions are born.
Emotions take place
with an oncoming storm.
The trees that seem to stand against the wind
stand tall as pride leads into sin.
The mind is shutting down;
earthquakes are breaking the ground.
Forgiveness looks to condemnation;
repentance fades to desperation.
The oceans tide flows out to the sea;
look real close-
that’s where you’ll find Me.
I hide in dusty corners
and reside in distant shadows;
I speak to the silent strangers
and inhabit abandoned meadows.
Reach not to your securities, the things of the known;
Examine the deepness
of the person from within.
It is here you shall find Me
last the day of salvation’s prayer;
A man’s heart, mind and soul
can be enemies of their own.
Do not always trust yourself;
leave “you” alone.
I promise to lead you
far from confusion’s way;
Give me the chance,
and never stray.
I love you more than anything,
more than I, myself.
for I have always been,
“you” never will.
-Alicia Tilly, 1997
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