October 21, 2015

Fear nothing so much, blame nothing so much, flee nothing so much, as your own sins and vices, of which ought to distress you more than any worldly loss.
Thomas a'Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, Book Three, Chapter 4

“From now on, I'm looking out for Number One, Numero Uno.”

I’m sure we've all heard something like that at some point in our lives.  We may have even said something like that at some point in our lives.  The point of that saying is that we need to be taking care of ourselves.  We need to be watching out for ourselves, because nobody else will.

This applies to jobs and careers, but it also applies to retirement funds, healthcare and other benefits we may have in other areas.  We have learned, sometimes by watching others, sometimes by noticing trends, and sometimes through our own failures, that we are are own advocate.  Nobody is going to step up for us and make sure things are taken care of.

Isn't it interesting, though, that so oftentimes the people who champion a “me first” attitude are the ones who obsess over the behaviors and actions of others.  People who loudly proclaim they don't want the government telling them how to live their lives are quick to support rules against those different from themselves.  People who have no trouble accessing healthcare for themselves are quick to support a system that won't offer healthcare for everyone.  People who rally around “religious freedom” slogans are quick to push for bans against any religion other than their own, or forced compliance with their own (think the Ten Commandments and Nativity scenes on and in government buildings, or mandatory Christian prayer before city council meetings or high school football games).

We fear that which we don't understand.  We are quick to blame others for our own mistakes.  We run away from that which we see as different, hoping to avoid contamination.  And we condemn all of the above; sometimes in the name of offendedness, sometimes in the name of righteousness.

Maybe what we need to stop doing is trying to make the world and those around us into our image.  Maybe we need to focus more on loving God and neighbor than sewing seeds of discontent because we are being invaded by those not like us.

If we are really looking out for Number One, maybe we should look ourselves in the mirror and consider which sins and vices we have committed today, and then work to commit one less tomorrow.  Because in the end, it's not a blame game . . . it's an honesty game.

Amen.