My Sunday Thought for 043017: Ripples

"Everything we do, even the slightest thing we do, can have a ripple effect and repercussions that emanate. If you throw a pebble into the water on one side of the ocean, it can create a tidal wave on the other side."

-- Victor Webster, actor

The following article was posted by the Universal Life Church Monastery periodical The Visionary on April 14, Alabama Megachurch Close to Creating Its Own Police Force. I found it both humorous and disturbing. Fringe lunatic congregations like the Hillsboro Baptist Church threaten the security, safety, peace and tranquility of military funerals to the point patriotic motorcycle groups have to cordon off the cemetery to keep the congregation at bay, yet this Alabama church feels threatened from outside forces to the point of a paranoia requiring their own police force to quell.

The reader's comments, listed at the bottom of the Monastery article, are telling to the general mindset of folks.   4000 people want to ensure their own safety in these trying times, and it would seem a majority of people feel they should suck it up and hang it out there like the rest of us.  Maybe the offended have a point - if we all can't have a personal police force, why should they?  And why should the taxpayers foot the bill when we're supposed to have a separation of church and state?  Yet, members of the League of the Perpetually Offended are the very ones who have created the fear for safety which has been brought down upon this church, and our society, like mass paranoia.

I suppose, if the congregation of these 4000 feel this threatened, the church should probably ask each congregation member to pony up one dollar every Sunday which would bring $4000 a week into the coffers enabling them to hire a private security force, armed to the teeth, with which to ensure the feeling of safety which they seem to feel the State police are unable to provide.  They could also have closed circuit monitoring, and snipers posted at strategic locations with which to blow the head off of any offended terrorist before they can rain death and mayhem down on the peaceful parishioners.  After all, it's what Christ would have wanted, right?

"There is a ripple effect to the gospel that's inevitable. There's a ripple effect to true grace. It doesn't lead us to only sit and contemplate what happened to us. It leads us to proclaim what's happened to us—and what can happen to anybody and everybody on the planet."

-- Louie Giglio, pastor, author

Whether the church foots the cost for security or the government does, it is money not being used to feed the hungry, cloth the needy or shelter the homeless, and if none of this is being accomplished the League of the Perpetually Offended wins.  Any time good falls prey to evil, the League wins another battle.

No matter how peaceful we can make this pond we live in, no matter how much we all try to get along, there will always be some splinter group of the League wanting to create ripples in the pond, a disturbance in the force, rattling the cage and trying to awaken the sleeping bear of personal offense, an offense at something or someone the greater majority of us are fine with.  What the League perpetually seems incapable of understanding is that a miniscule splinter can be bothersome, whereas a variety of large trees adds beauty and positive purpose to a forest.  If the splinter offends thee, pluck it out.  If there is infection, excise it before it spreads.  Or, the offended could simply learn to live and let live, to be tolerant, understanding, and reasonable.  It is time much better spent, and we have so little time as it is.

“It's sad that in a world of billions, people can still feel isolated and alone. Sometimes all it takes to brighten up someone's day is a smile or kind word, or the generous actions of a complete stranger. Small things, the tiny details, these are the things that matter in life — the little glint in the eye, curve of a lip, nod of a head, wave of a hand — such minuscule movements have huge ripple effects.”

-- Shaun Hick, author, poet

The pond of our existence can be as smooth as glass, as turbulent and foreboding as a North Atlantic storm, or as beautiful as waves crashing along the Pacific shore.  Whether we offend or take offense, the calm of our pond is dependent on the quantity of all which society chucks into it.  Peace is dependent on understanding which comes from knowledge and education, and a tolerance we are willing to exercise so those around us can seek their own personal path to happiness; it is our willingness to live and let live.  This, however, is a concept which runs contrary to the tenets of the League of the Perpetually Offended because the "live and let live" concept negates perpetuity of any desired feeling of offense for which they dedicate their own pleasantly masochistic feelings of misery here on earth.

"Every loving word and action create a far reaching ripple effect - like the waves of the ocean."

-- Swami Dhyan Giten, author, spiritual teacher

The ripples we cause should be gentle and have loving purpose, we should be always cognizant of the what, when, where, how, and why of our words and actions while we each travel along our path in this life.  Our actions and words should complement what others do, or allow others to compliment what we are striving to accomplish.  Our ripples should add to the beauty of the pond and interact with other ripples to create a symphony of movement we can all enjoy and find purpose in.  Our ripples should be the impetus for miracles, not the destructive force of tsunamis.

Does all this mean we should never show offense?  Absolutely not, but perhaps we would be better served to ensure our offense isn't driven by our own selfish desires... of which there are many.  We would be better served to pick and choose well thought out battles to ensure we don't come off as selfish, self-centered assholes to the rest of society.  Let us, instead, celebrate the peaceful diversity of culture, philosophy, religion, race, and personal belief.  

When a person finds something wrong in everything, it makes others wonder if they are capable of ever finding anything right in anything.  Just saying.

“Having a vested interest in other souls unconditionally creates a ripple effect that produces miracles in the lives of those around us.”

-- Molly Friedenfeld, author, spiritual teacher, radio host

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 23 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with an Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects in pharmaceutical research.  Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, to wage his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as Chaplain Program Liaison, at a regional medical center.