Once again, here I am, blessed in my life, and forgiven for my occasions of sin, and for my black soul that follows me everywhere. Every day I can count on these blessings, and I don’t know why, but the blessings keep coming. Possibly I should not count on them, but just count them.
I guess the reason that I’m so focused on my black soul, is because from the very first day of catechism I was told that our young innocent souls are already tainted with original sin until we are Baptized. Original Sin would be the grave sin bestowed on us by Adam and Eve by eating from the Tree of Knowledge. In the next catechism, I learned that we are never supposed to question the teachings of the Catholic Church…..EVER! Ummmm……and why not? Why shouldn’t we question anything we have a doubt about, wonder about or have a genuine curiosity about?
I guess the reason that I’m so focused on my black soul, is because from the very first day of catechism I was told that our young innocent souls are already tainted with original sin until we are Baptized. Original Sin would be the grave sin bestowed on us by Adam and Eve by eating from the Tree of Knowledge. In the next catechism, I learned that we are never supposed to question the teachings of the Catholic Church…..EVER! Ummmm……and why not? Why shouldn’t we question anything we have a doubt about, wonder about or have a genuine curiosity about?
Sin seems to be available around every corner; pretty easy to find. It’s our job to try to avoid the near occasion of sin. We are taught from the very beginning that Satan and his minions are around every corner, lurking and sleazing around for lazy, vulnerable souls to bribe, harvest, and to convince us that bad is good, and good is bad. And furthermore, I learned that it’s a sin to waste a single second of time. Say, if you spend an afternoon lying by a river bank wondering about the miracles and beauty that our God has created, then you’re in real trouble. Couldn’t that be counted as meditating on how great our God is?
There is far too much detail heaped on us about what is bad or just plain evil. This is enough to make anyone paranoid. Our God blessed us with a free will, and then told us to use it wisely. My daily prayer is to ask God to just help me be good. That’s all I need for me. I know the difference between right and wrong. So, if I do something that is wrong, then I’m pretty aware of it, and feel appropriately guilty. Then I will summon up the appropriate amends eventually. Mea culpa, mea, culpa, mea culpa…. Done!
Blast that emotion of guilt! Ann Landers says that if you feel guilty, then you probably are guilty of something. Ain’t it the truth! And, aren’t we always? Our daily media crams us with as much fear and guilt up our patooties as they possibly can. This is done to sell products and politics. It’s on every T.V. news channel, newspaper, and televangelist and on all of the radio stations. We don’t have to have a preacher do it on Sunday.
According to whom? It’s all about viewers and ratings. They’ll promote anything within the realms of “journalism” (and these days, I use the term loosely), to promote whatever the sponsors have paid for them to say and promote. If you squint your eyes and tune in your ears, you can tell when it’s a crock. You just have to look at both sides and bone up on what each side has to say, and then take from that what you will. Who knows….really! Does anybody really know? Will anyone challenge the media, or are we all Sheeple?
Inevitable temptation is always going to be there, but perhaps we should focus more on how we respond to the temptation. Learn from it. Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Avarice, and Sloth. These seven deadly sins predate Christ. Jesus only highlighted what was already being preached. Is it Sloth then, to be sitting here at this computer?
From the beginning of mankind, people have looked to the “heavens” for the God that made them. We have basic knowledge of what’s right and what’s wrong. These are the sins we have to watch out for. People will see a temptation and assume that it is somewhat innocent, and then the next time, they/we will find it much easier to fall prey to that same temptation once we look at it as a rational, justifiable decision because we have a free will. Lightening didn’t strike, so it must not be so bad. I guess we can rationalize anything to be right and good.
So, why am I expounding about sin and guilt? Shouldn’t we be more focused on just doing good in our world, and possibly how to help others? And shouldn’t there be less focus on how bad we are, and less emphasis on the consequences for not following the rules of any one religion. Just being a good person is a step in the right direction; then follow a religion….one you believe is good for you.
We have been programed to fear retribution, and if we’re afraid, then, we humans respond with rebellious actions….fight back! And, what of the “rewards” for just being a good person? This should start out with ….First, do no harm! The very first reward for this would be the knowledge that you have harmed no one.
That’s the way I’m looking at things this morning. I think the media news on T.V. set me off. I stand by being a good person first. Eradicate fear and go forward. Recognize what is the right thing to do and do it. If you don’t know the right thing to do, then just do the next right thing. Being a good person is just too under-rated. Too many rules have been attached to being a good person. And I think that most people qualify as good people, and don’t even know it. We are a good people.
Now, just do some good for yourself and for mankind. Smile and be happy you are here for the lessons you will learn.
