I've noticed that recently there has been more news reported on shootings, stabbings, robberies, house fires, critical auto accidents, and the like in our local news. Not that there hasn't been news reports like this before, it's just that for some reason they've become more frequent. I'm not sure if it's because these things are happening more frequently, or it's just being reported more frequently.
Either way, these reports have caused me to think about a few things. Mainly, why do things like this happen in the first place?
My wife and I had a great conversation about some of the reasons these things happen. We came to an agreement that at the root of most of these issues is a self-centered attitude. The shootings and stabbings have been a result of arguments gone too far. The fires have been caused by inattentiveness as have the auto accidents, especially those which have cause pedestrian deaths. The robberies, we're convinced, is a result of people putting their needs above others; whether it's because the cost of food and basic utilities and/or rent is too high for most to afford, or because of addictions which need to be suppressed.
When the need to satisfy one's wants and needs surpass the basic human necessity to care for others, there will always be a conflict between whose needs are greatest. Imagine if instead of putting our personal needs first, we put the needs of others first. What if instead of rushing to an from places we paid attention to the people walking in the crosswalks? What if instead of becoming addicted to drugs we took a good look at how that addiction affects or families and friends and sought to rejoin the communities which want them back.
What if, instead of thinking about our place in life we started to improve the lives of those around us? After all, isn't that what Jesus did?
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