As I was working on creating the image above, once again it was as if I was hearing my Grandfather's voice. "Kindness and tolerance my girl, always two of the most important things to remember if you are to live our faith." I cannot count the number of times I heard those words as I was growing up in the many conversations we had, or a more accurate description might be, the lessons he imparted as he was attempting to instill into me that which he considered to be so important.  Words engraved on my mind forever. As he explained .. to judge others is to assume the prerogative which only belongs to our Maker and in doing so we most assuredly commit a sin for which we will one day be called to account.

 My Grandfather was a  born again Christian from the age of fourteen, and a Baptist, and he believed  in living his faith every hour, of every day of his life. I am  admittedly not nearly so blessed, or so wise. I do believe as he did but find it difficult to accept the dogma of today taught by so many of our Christian leaders, filled as it is with so much  intolerance, anger, hypocrisy, and an arrogant presumption that we have the right to judge others who do not adhere to their teachings. I cannot, and will not ever  be willing to accept that as being Christian. That intolerance and bigotry has driven me away from my church. Today I seek to find peace from within and also in the outdoors where I feel closest to the teachings of my youth. 

 "Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others." Those words from  President John F. Kennedy would certainly find approval from my Grandfather. Of that I have no doubt. Though we all have fears and  even anger within us, we must learn not to succumb  to their influence and instead nourish our positive qualities – those of compassion, understanding, and loving kindness. Unless, and until we do so, we shall continue to spiral further into the  maelstrom of hate which fills our world today. Why are our Christian leaders forgetting the very tenets of our faith ? How can they so easily forget their duty and the teachings of the One whom we revere ? False prophets indeed.

 And yet, even as I write the words above I again remember my Grandfather's words ... and recognize I am guilty of judging their  actions  and words which in itself makes my  protestations open to question. Am I not also presuming to assume a right not mine ? Perhaps their motives are pure although I believe misguided. In any case it is not my place to judge. However, it is my decision to  refuse to accept their  way as being mine. I will live with that decision and I will certainly answer for it should  the time come when I am called upon to do so.

 In the meantime I reserve the right to question and  to choose a way I consider to be more in keeping with the faith of my Grandfather.

 As I think of the problems we face, not only with other countries but among our own people, I know that many of those problems are rooted in differences in how we perceive those who interpret faith in different ways.  This leads to misunderstanding and mistrust and divides us rather than uniting us as we should, and most assuredly need to be.  We judge those we do not understand, we condemn those who choose a different path than we do, and we show little tolerance or kindness to our fellow man. Is it any wonder we see a world in such turmoil ?

 We are all children of the same God. Is it our place to decide who is right and who is wrong ? Is that not only for Him to decide ? In taking on that responsibility are we not blaspheming one of the cardinal rules of our faith? "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me", means exactly that. And that includes not elevating ourselves to that lofty position.

And yet we continue to do so with no thought of  just how destructive that attitude is to the well being of every one, including ourselves and our children. Can anyone recall a time when our peoples have been so divided? How can we expect to reach accord with those of other faiths when we cannot even find it among those who share our Christian faith ?

 There are no absolutes in this world of ours. And yet there are those who refuse to accept that not everyone interprets things as we do and who they therefore see as sinners in the eyes of God. Who are we to make such judgments ? It is not our right or God given responsibility to do so and yet we insist only our ideas and beliefs are acceptable. To my mind that is the ultimate hypocrisy.

 I am not suggesting for an instant that there are not those who break every covenant of our faith, and in doing so harm others irreparably and whose actions do demand that they be held to account in a court of law. That is a given. However, I am suggesting that we must find our way back to the values and standards of  a kinder time when goodwill toward one's fellow man  was a prerequisite. Only then will it be possible to heal the wounds we have inflicted on one another. And only when we heal those wounds will we be united in  dealing with  the perils we face in today's world. Until we do find a way to do this  we increase the chances of our civilization and our way of life being destroyed.

As my Grandfather was fond of saying, "beware of false prophets and those who would bend you to their will  for their own selfish motives, for they surely will do you harm. Look within for the answers.  They are only waiting for  the light of day to penetrate the miasma of deceit which has darkened our world. Live your faith. It will not ever let you down."

One of the first Bible verses children learn is, "Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." - [Ephesians 4:32] The world in which we live today does not practice kindness. Kindness is unusual. It is not the norm. God expects so much more from His people. He expects kindness to be the normal pattern of behavior. We definitely would all be very well advised to remember this before it is too late.