I am in the mood to talk about possibilities... I am in a mood to talk about motivation...
Welcome to Brothers and Sisters, the weekly meetup for prayer* and community at Daily Kos. We put an asterisk on pray* to acknowledge that not everyone uses conventional religious language, but may want to share joys and concerns, or simply take solace in a meditative atmosphere. Anyone who comes in the spirit of mutual respect, warmth and healing is welcome.
from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians (Phil 2:1-5):
Brothers and Sisters: If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others.
That was the short version of the second reading at church today, and my priest went with the "be of one mind" for his sermon. It was a fine homily, but I left thinking about other places he could have gone. We are going down one of those paths here this evening.
Those of you who know a bit about me know that I am a big believer in social justice- I think that there is great force possible in helping others and in working for equity. I am practical... I know that this is not an easy thing. The very religion that gives me the quote above often works against followers trying to improve this world. There are far too many Christians in name only- acting out of self-interest only, looking for what they "deserve" because they are Christian. So much of what is written in the New Testament points us to act in communal ways- looking out for one another.
The big thing that jumps out in this vein for me in the passage from Philippians:
Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory: Can you imagine the changes that would occur in this country alone if we could remove selfishness as a motive for policy decisions? Does everything have to be about "what's in it for me?" Do I have to make someone else look bad in order to look good?
If we can examine our motivations and really think about what is good for the communities we live in, then we can begin to act in ways that will bring change-- the kind of actions that keep going.