Peace in a Taxi Cab

People are fascinating - and among the most down to earth and diverse group of people seems to be those who drive taxi cabs. Accordingly, every time I travel for business I look forward to talking with my different drivers.

This past week I was in Dallas for a conference. On my way back to the airport I was driven back by an Iraqi. I have many times been driven by Iraqi's and am always fascinated by our conversations. This particular driver was a fairly young man who loved Dallas and was grateful for the peace he enjoyed there. He said he wished that all the world could be as peaceful as his world was in Dallas. He had lost many friends and family in this most recent war and I could tell he felt a great loss for them - not only because they were gone, but because they were killed in acts of senseless murder. He knew war better than most and had no misconceptions of glory.

As our conversation continued, I noted that it was also the day of the Israeli-Palestinian peace conference and uttered some words of hopeless wishes that peace may some day be found in that region. My driver replied, "We all believe in God. Why can't we get along and find peace?!"

His response was so welcome to me. I feel the same as he does and agreed whole heartedly.

We talked some more about the turmoil that whole region is going through and the sadness and pain caused by war. He asked, "When will there finally be an end to war?"

Pondering on that question I thought back to the comments I have many time heard from friends, colleagues and others in the media. I told him, "Many people in this country feel that religion is actually the cause of these wars. They therefore feel the best way to do away with these wars is to also do away with religion."

I continued, "I, however, disagree with that. I believe that the only way to do away with these wars is Religion. The only way to bring peace on earth is for each one of us to truly love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Only then will there be true peace on earth."

After a moment of silence my driver responded, "I totally agree with you."

In a world of bombs and hate, he and I had peace - an Iraqi Muslim and an American Christian - in a cab on our way to the airport because both of us understood that principle. We both recommend it to all.

Matthew 5:

38 ¶ Ye have heard that it hath been said, An ^aeye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not ^aevil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right ^bcheek, ^cturn to him the other also.

40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

42 ^aGive to him that asketh thee, and from him that would ^bborrow of thee turn not thou away.

43 ¶ Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt ^alove thy ^bneighbour, and hate thine enemy.

44 But I say unto you, ^aLove your ^benemies, ^cbless them that ^dcurse you, do ^egood to them that ^fhate you, and ^gpray for them which despitefully use you, and ^hpersecute you;

45 That ye ^amay be the ^bchildren of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth ^crain on the just and on the unjust.

46 For if ye ^alove them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

48 ^aBe ye therefore ^bperfect, even as your ^cFather which is in heaven is ^dperfect.

Organized Religion

"Organized religion" is one of those terms that in today's society has come to mean something totally different than what it really should. A few decades ago there was a proliferation of "Non-Denominational" churches that popped up everywhere which in their very religious category of "non-denominational" sought to distance themselves from the "organized religions." However, the term "Organized Religion" today encompasses at the very least all Judeo-Christian churches - even non-denominational ones - as well as Islam. I think that is wrong for one basic reason. Many of these churches have nothing to do with religion - period.

What is religion then?

According to the ancient Apostle James:

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." James 1:27

This is beautiful - this is right, this is good and this is everything but the modern definition of "Organized Religion."

Modern "Organized Religions" in many cases are not religions at all by James' definition because they have left these fundamentals of pure religion behind. Churches that teach hatred and terrorism have nothing religious to offer. Churches with Reverends that are more political figures than spiritual leaders are not religions at all. Churches that preach wealth and riches while all the time asking for more and more of their members money don't fit James' definition either. Churches that provide great music concerts and "Praising the Lord" while judging the world and their neighbors sadly blind their member's eyes and do nothing to truly keep them "unspotted from the world." Churches that don't require the sacrifice of their followers in behalf of the poor and the needy are not "pure religions" either. By James' definition, many churches aren't religions at all but merely traditions, belief systems that influence people's behaviors, exercise control over their members lives, blind their minds to spiritual truths, and exert pressure on governments and peoples across the world and throughout the ages to act according their wishes.

What we need is truly more organized religion - James' kind. Organized religion is a beautiful thing. The voluntary organization of men, women and children into the fold of God to care for one another both temporally and spiritually in all things is enriching, edifying, and wonderful to be a part of. It is something that we all hope for and desire - to be truly spiritually fed and led towards God. Sadly, the empty churches (empty in religion) have tricked people into feeling there is no more hope left in "religion." I believe there is hope. It is my hope that there will be more living faith and less traditions, more love and less emptiness, more Divine guidance and less self-righteous pastors, more sacrifice of self and less selfishness - indeed, more organized religion so that you and I, and all mankind, might care for those in their afflictions and become unspotted from the world.

“What are you?”

Last week at dinner with a co-worker and his wife, his wife asked me, “So, what are you?” She wanted to know what I did for a living but I was taken back. Inside my mind I thought, “Wow, did she just tie me and my identity, my worth and my AM with my job?”

I responded, “I am a Human Being. If you want to know what I do, I work in Human Resources.” She was a bit surprised by my answer.

What a question. What am I?

I look into the mirror and I see me. Or do I?

I cut off the edge of a finger nail and cast it away. Am I less of me? Am I somehow less of me than I was before I clipped my nail?

I cut off some hair and drop it. Am I less of me now? No, as a matter of fact I feel no more or less of me than I did before I clipped my nail and cut my hair. In the very literal sense though, I guess I am some hundredths of a milligram in weight less than I was before. However, I am not just what I see – I look into the mirror and see the tool of me.

I drive past a billboard with a picture of a young woman and a surfboard. The woman is missing her left arm but yet she is clearly ready to go surfing from the setting and her swim suit. It reads “Rising Above.” Clearly she is not less of who she is without her arm too – as a matter of fact, the lack of her arm perhaps showed her more than ever before who she really was – something more than she previously knew (http://www.forbetterlife.org/billboards/rising-above , http://www.forbetterlife.org/images/pdf/vision.pdf).

What am I then? Who am I then? We, as brothers and sisters, are all similar in the core. If you go deep inside you, you will find it. What we see on the outside is a tool for who we really are – spirit and intelligence. This tool, this miraculous tool, amplifies that spirit within and creates opportunities for us that without this body we never could have experienced. We are light. We are intelligence. And we are our bodies as well. These things combined are us. The things people see are the manifestation of what is within. The works of kindness or greed, skill or shamble, beauty or sloppiness, virtue or vice are the manifestation of perhaps how in tune we are with what really is within.

If perception is reality, which in our heads it truly is, there are many who really are only what they see in the mirror and they feel it too.

When we confuse who we are with what we do and what we see only, we miss the true us. We are much more than a set of skills, a pretty face, a handsome physique, a pleasant voice. If we tie our identity to these outward things, when we grow old and wrinkly, lose our job, gain weight, no longer be able to play sports, etc., we will feel less worth, less self-esteem, less value, because we don’t know who we really are.

Who am I? I didn’t answer fully my colleague’s question. I am a son of God, created in His image, given His light within me, and growing towards Him to one day be like Him, God willing and I believing.

Who are you? His Child as well, born of divine heritage and destined for goodness and greatness. Don’t believe me? Do the exercise - cut your nail, look inside you, and then look upward towards God.

With All Thy Getting...

One of my favorite scriptures reads, "With all thy getting, get understanding." Every day of my life I try to get more understanding of not only the world around me and myself, but also of the things of God & His truths. My life has been blessed as I have been able to find in degrees greater understanding in all of these areas.

One bit of understanding that has helped me has been the truth that I live by to build in all I do and to never tear down. In all of our conversations we should, ideally, build each other up either through kindness, expressions of faith, or of genuine goodwill towards one another. At the very least, our conversations should never lead to being critical, judgemental or scornful of those we know and associate with. Rather than tear down, we should build up.

The movies we watch or the music we listen to at the very least should not make us less of a human for participating in them. We should emerge just as human as we were before and ideally, we should emerge better. We should emerge as people determined to be a little better and a little kinder to those around us - in an ideal world.

Our work should build us up. Our thoughts should build us up. Our words show the inner workings of the workmanship of our hearts. Our lives should build up others. I wish to be a master builder - just like the Carpenter's Son.

A poem expressed this bit of understanding in this way:

"I watched them tearing a building down,
A gang of men in a busy town.
With a ho-heave-ho and a lusty yell,
They swung the beams and the side walls fell.
I asked the foreman, “Are these men skilled,
The kind you’d hire were you to build?”
He laughed and said, “Why, no indeed!
Just common laborers are all I need.
They can easily wreck in a day or two
What builders have taken years to do. “
And I thought to myself as I went my way:
“What part in the game of life do I play?
Am I a builder who works with care,
measuring life by the rule and square?
Am I shaping my deeds to a well-made plan,
patiently doing the best I can?
Or am I a wrecker who walks the town,
Content with the labor of tearing down?”

That is one of my favorite poems. Douglas L. Callister said, "Refinement in speech is more than polished elocution. It results from purity of thought and sincerity of expression.... Refinement in speech is reflected not only in our choice of words but also in the things we talk about. There are those who always speak of themselves, and they are either insecure or proud. There are those who always speak of others. They are usually very boring. There are those who speak of stirring ideas, compelling books, and inspiring doctrine. These are the few who make their mark in this world.

"The subjects discussed in heaven are not trifling or mundane. They are sublime beyond our most extended imagination. We will feel at home there if we are rehearsed on this earth in conversing about the refined and noble, clothing our expressions in well-measured words."

It is my hope to be a builder, not content with tearing down but ever seeking to build up others by the gift of love & kindness behind the words and actions people see and hear from me. For me, this is priceless understanding. Thank you for reading - I hope in this short read, you were inspired to be the better you.

Religion v. Spirituality?

Recently I have had several discussions with people regarding things of a higher, more noble plane. Discussions should always strive to make us, and those around us better. They should never diminish us or others in any way. Gratefully, I have been blessed to be with good people who seek, as do I, for further light and knowledge throughout our sojourn here on earth.

In our discussions, my mind has often turned toward religion and spirituality. I am tempted to use religion v. spirituality but that is not the way it should be and not the way it always is. Unfortunately, religion today is viewed by many people as something that in fact impedes spiritual growth. Why is that? It is my belief that it is because the religions they have experienced have in fact done just that, kept them from true spiritual enlightenment and living.

Just to be sure that we all are on the same page, religion for me is a certain set of beliefs and/or rituals followed and practiced, typically by a group of people. Spirituality is the growth of the soul in personal understanding about who we are, where we came from & where we are going as well as those virtues that refine and eventually perfect a being through light, knowledge and spirit.

Religion - true religion - with all of its guidelines, teachings and ordinances should be a tool in the hands of God to provide direction, experiences and opportunities for spiritual enlightenment and therefore spiritual growth and development.

God, our Heavenly Father, loves all of His children and desires that we gain the same spiritual plane that He now stands upon. Hence, He has shared His works and words to spiritual men and women through the ages in an effort to answer their earnest quest for spiritual growth and satisfaction.

I know there is a God and I believe that He has inspired the founders of all of the great religions and made them instruments in His hands to do more than just enlighten themselves, but to bring their whole society to a higher plane.

When religion, in my opinion, becomes the hands of men rather than the hands of God it ceases to have that same spiritual power that it once did. People come to eat at the table, but they leave still hungry. At what point does it become the hands of men? I feel that religion of any kind ceases to edify when it closes the mind and creates enmity between mankind. At that point it can no longer provide the spiritual development that it promises because true spirituality embraces all truth and light as well as love and equality among all men.

People are hungry and can you blame them? The great religions are also the icons of the great divide among men and ideas. Those very tools that were intended to provide spiritual growth for their followers have in fact lead them on for so long only doing the motions - telling the stories of the great prophets but failing to write new chapters. I believe that God can and does still speak with us today and that we can hear Him if we will tap into His spirit.

We can turn it around - I believe in a better tomorrow. I only believe it will come though as enmity dies and minds and hearts open to the Spirit of Truth and Enlightenment. Let us all seek for true religion and for sincere spirituality.

The Lesson of the Knights Templar

Nearly a thousand years ago in a time of a religious crusade was formed out of the ranks of knights on the site of the then destroyed King Solomon's temple, a religious order known as the Knights of the Temple. It was on that site that Abraham was to have offered Isaac as an offering to the Lord. It was on that site that David received a revelation from God that there His house was to be built. It was on that site that three different times a temple would be built - first by Solomon, then by Zerubbabel and finally by King Herod - for the offering of sacrifices to the Lord. It was on that site that Jesus Christ would teach his people and declare first that his Father's house and then later that His house was a house of prayer. It was on that site that Mohammad made his final ascent on the ladder leading to heaven. It was a site of great spiritual meaning to many people.

These Knights of the Temple - or the Knights Templar - would protect Christian pilgrims on their way to worship the Lord their God from the west as they traveled east. They lived the highest standards of morality and gave their lives in defense of their faith and religion. For several hundred years this Order existed and protected the Christian pilgrims until the Holy land was lost and due to jealousy on the part of King Phillip of France and Pope Clement V, these Knights of the Temple were simultaneously arrested in a single day and tortured by the inquisition to force their confessions of heresy, homosexuality and blasphemy against Christ and His church. They were burned and abused in the most terrible forms known to man.

However, the Templars in England were given three months to go underground while their French Brothers were being tortured for crimes they had never committed. The inquisition was sent to England to arrest the Templars there - but only two were found - one of whom escaped.

Where did they go?

It is believed by many and there is credible evidence to support that these knights and clerics of the Order of the Knights of the Temple formed together a secret society for their mutual protection. This society is now known as the Free and Accepted Masons. For Hundreds of years this society existed and grew without the knowledge of society. Its tenants were the Fatherhood of God, the Brotherhood of Man and the Immortality of the Soul. It took within its body all who were free and who accepted these beliefs - men of all religions. They were encouraged to perform their religious duties but membership in a particular church was not required - only a belief in God. The templars had tasted the fruits of religious bigotry and betrayal and made it a central tenant to never pass on those fruits to others.

More than 700 years has passed since the Inquisition put an end to that order but the same enmity and hatred that ran in the hearts of those men then, sadly still resides in the hearts of many today. And in that 700 years that site - the site where the templars were formed - has become a hotbed of religious hatred and bigotry. That site of spiritual meaning is now a site and symbol of the great mental divide of ignorance and enmity and therefore of the weakness among men. A site that should bring all of God's children together in strength and brotherhood is instead the site of fractured hearts and a divided race.

The Muslims guard the Dome of the Rock with machine guns. The Jews worship below at the wailing wall - all that is left of the great temple. The Christians have no place to worship their Savior. There, on a hill the space of just a few acres is represented the great religious tectonic movements in today's society. The plates are moving and the damage is huge. The death toll from religious strife between our three faiths numbers in the thousands every year. The level of religious hatred and intolerance is at an all time high. The sadness and loneliness of the widows and orphans of those left in the wake of this religious strife is eternal. Their wounds can never be healed.

It would seem like there would be no more better of a time than now for there to be an order of the Knights of the Temple, built on the principles of religious tolerance and the tenants of the Fatherhood of God, the Brotherhood of Man and the Immortality of the Soul to find a way for the safe travel of religious pilgrims of all faiths and creeds on their way to the Holy Land.

Let us be that Order - let us be the guardians of the temple - the temple of God - and respect the ways and beliefs of all who worship there and encourage them in their religious duties.

It seems so counter to our Heavenly Father's will and character that He would ever wish the sword to be raised against a brother. It is time for us to find a way to peace. Perhaps it was Gandhi who said it best, "There is no way to peace. Peace is the way."

I for one commit to peace.