0

The dirty underbelly of America - my rant!

(John in Mexico with Nacho!  John loves like God intended.)

"You can tell the quality of a person by how they treat the people they don't need."- Malcolm Gladwell

I believe the DNA of this quote is the dirty underbelly of every oganization and what I would consider one of the main problems with America today! We're all striving to be the best (which is a good thing), we're all looking to get the 'top spot' (which is a good thing), we all want to meet people who can help us get there (which is a good thing)...but the problem with that is that on the other side of that motivation (here in the States) is the perception that you must stomp on anyone to get there, that you have to have a cut throat mentality of a dog-eat-dog world to "make it", and that you must have the willingness to neglect anyone who won't help or contribute to getting you there because "they will only slow you down or get in your way".  Because of that double-edged sword, if we're completely honest we, as a country, have lost sight of the God-ordained truth that...EVERY PERSON MATTERS! Sure there are groups of people who get it (like John pictured above), there are people who have devoted their lives to changing it like this guy, this guy, and this guy to list a few.  But if we zoom our lense out, people like them are the minority. (If you disagree, please comment and explain, I think it will be fun to discuss.) When I was in Japan my eyes were opened to what truly IS possible.  The way the Japanese people treated each other astounded me.  It was one of my main highlights of the trip.  Being in Japan representing Notre Dame Football, we were supposed to be the celebrites so I anticipated being treated like royalty (and my expectations were met and exceeded) but the thing that just blew me away day after day was how they treated each other. There was a sense that each and every person had worth. They bowed with respect for one another, they looked each other in the eyes, they were polite, they smiled often, they didn't appear consumed (meaning they didn't seem so preoccupied with something that they couldn't acknowledge the things around them), they were sincere, they tried hard to prepare for those who they expected to show up, and they taught me so much about how I want to do life and ministry.

I want my family and my ministry to be a place where everyone feels loved, REGARDLESS of their capacity to help me.

Far too often, people only show love, support, and respect for those they can get something out of.... To rant for a second, this is what bothers me about social networking at times...it seems that so many people are out to make a name for themselves.  To BRAND something, to try to develop an original thought they can base their kingdom on, to be known by who they know (or act as if they know), to gain for themselves on the achievements of others. To be completely blunt, it's almost as if people have decided to search for significance in this gooey/fuzzy world known as social networking and the more "followers" they have, the more "friends" they have, the more significant they feel.  (sounds stupid when you say it out loud doesn't it.) I often thought about dropping off of the face of social networking because of those very reasons but for some reason I just haven't done it.  Not actually sure that I ever will, but I try to let my thoughts and convictions drive my content, not "who will read it" OR "who can i get to read it".  I don't think I always succeed in doing that but it's what I try to do. I'm not even stating this as the "right way" to do social networking, I'm just stating that that approach doesn't sit well with me.  I believe it's your username, use it how you want.  I don't believe there are any rules either.  In my opinion, do what you want or what works for you...I just hurt for the people who legitmately find their source of satisfaction and fulfillment in it. (that's my only reason for posting this.  Maybe there is one person out there that this will help/touch.) So to come full circle...what if we treated everyone like they have worth regardless of what they can do for us, what if we didn't try to find fulfillment and significance in the machine of social networking or the blogosphere, what if we thought about how we treat the people who we don't need...do they feel as valued and important as the people you're trying to "network/connect" with? Could American begin to function as God intended and may this be a small step in the right direction of helping the seemingly unlovable feel loved?  I don't know, but I'm willing to give it a shot.