I
may not be religious but there is one Bible verse that I’ve always kind of
enjoyed… Most of us are taught one form or another of it as a child. Luke 6:31, which reads something like: “Do to others as you
would have them do to you.” This extends
into many areas of my life… and I take it seriously at every turn…
I
am honest, occasionally to a fault, because I expect honesty of other people…
and how am I to expect something of other’s that I am not willing to give
myself? At the same time, I am not
totally naïve… I realize that not many people actually share my belief and will
lie to me even if I am honest with them… Does this mean that I should forsake
my own “vow of honesty” simply because others choose not to be honest? I feel not.
I
don’t consider myself to be better than anyone… I try really hard to make sure
no one feels inferior when around me (because of me)… and, generally, feel
really terrible if I find out that I accidentally made them feel that way… I
prefer to think of myself as having more of an equal footing with those around
me… I am no better. I am no worse. Again, I am not naïve… I realize that not
everyone else shares this view… but I don’t speak up if I feel someone is
tearing someone else down… Why? Partly
because I rationalize that it is not my place to do so… partly because I often
worry that I am being over sensitive…
Some
other things… I try to avoid throwing punches… causing physical altercations…
fisticuffs, if you will… because I do not think violence is actually the answer
to anything. I also avoid screaming at
people… even when I am extremely angry… first, because I do not like the way
that I feel when I scream… and second, because I do not like scaring other
people… or making them cry… and these are both things that happen when I scream
at people.
I
feel that all of these things are reasonable and are part of what makes me a
decent human being… they are my “good” that outweighs the “bad,” in a sense…
