We live in a very selfish society. Everything is about “me, me, me!”.
“Me” is first. “Me” is the priority. “Me” comes before anything!
“Me” is sometimes even before my wife, my communication with my daughter, my son, my friendship with my husband, my values and what we call ethics in the society.
From this point of view the results become more important than the means to achieve the final goals because at the very end what matters is just the goal and the final results in order to have, achieve, conquer, get pseudo success and a pleasurable life.
Therefore, I start to think that everybody is supposed to know me, recognize what I do, see my position, admire who I am, “bow down” before my knowledge because it is about me, me, me…
I like when Jesus comes across this false thought and ideology and just says in Luke chapter 12 verses 19 and 20: And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ‘”But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself ?’
Sometimes I meet people who were young and thought “when I turn 18 I will have my car and find satisfaction in life”. And then they turn 18 and get a car (a nice car) but they keep thinking after that “I know when I finish my college and get my job and have a successful career, I will be done and have real satisfaction and pleasure and I will find joy and happiness”.
They get a nice car, great job, career but they still feel that there is a void inside of their being craving for something else. Then, they think “If I get married, If I.. and when I… have my kids, my and my…and when I, I and I….”
They have..have..and keep having and accomplishing status and things, life style and possessions, growing and climbing life’s ladder in this existence but the void is still there until they get retired and realize that they could not find complete and absolute fulfillment through any material, ephemeral possession and personal achievements.
There is nothing wrong with most of these things that I just mentioned but they cannot be an end in themselves. There is something more in between…
Life is about people and not just about projects.
Life is about giving and not just taking.
Life is about love and not just passion.
Life is about looking around and not just looking at ourselves…
Are you the type of person who wants to buy more and more, have more and more, achieve more and more in order to be content and satisfied?
Do you know anyone who lives life running after these “achievements” and seeing the end as being more important than the means to feel fulfilled and satisfied ?
Do you know that America consumes over 40% of the resources of the world? Do you know that around 1 billion people in the world live with less than $1/day and do not have clean water?
Do you know that experts tell us we “only” need $20 billion in order to meet the basic needs in the world like water, food and health? Do you know that is exactly what we spend in ice cream per year in the USA?
How do you see life? How is your view about people who are around you? Where and how could we invest our time and resources with our families and people who may come across our path?
Here it is…
The invitation is to see life in a different perspective.
The invitation is to open our hearts and realize that we can be agents of God’s grace wherever we are by acting with generosity and goodness, being sensitive to hear the cry of the poor and the one who is in need and understanding the world is bigger than “me”, “me”…. and what we call: ” my needs”.
Fábio
Clearwater, Florida
