Christmas has me thinking.
A Beautiful Tapestry of Spiritual Diversity
America was founded with the belief that each person has the right to follow the religion they choose. In our nation, there are millions of faith groups. There are Protestants. Catholics, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, and Muslims. People worship in magnificent structures, simple storefronts, and in their homes.
A Season to Think About What Matters
The Christmas season invites and encourages us to consider what matters and why. All the great religions urge us to aspire to do and be better.
Decades ago, I wanted to believe that humanity was perfectible. I rejoiced that people had increased their knowledge and created helpful inventions. Yet by college graduation, I admitted that our inhumanity contradicted the myth that humans were perfectible. I knew I could never be perfect, but I was sure I could improve. I was sure I could change for the better.
Change Is Hard
Even if we desire it, change is hard for us. The status quo has a pull like gravity. It s easy to keep doing things the same way we ve always done them.
Everything worthwhile is hard to earn: freedom, honor, love, great marriage, respect, victory, etc. Pick your hard. Being lean, strong, and fit is hard, as is being weak and obese. Being married is hard, and so is being single, widowed, or divorced. Being a parent is hard, and so is being childless. Pick your hard.
For generations, many followers of many faiths have sought to live a life worth imitating, to think, speak, and act in the ways we admire. Considering what matters and why is hard. But it seems to me that it is precisely what the season challenges us to do.
A Humble Start
I’m not trying to shift your beliefs. Instead, I m inviting you to reflect on ideas that are more important than you and me and to ponder what is involved in following them. I ll prime the pump by admitting what is beyond my human capacity.
When I consider my shortcomings, flaws, and rebellion, it is easy to be discouraged. Here is a mystery that swamps my incomplete and imperfect understanding.
Each founder of a faith tradition invited people to try a new and better way, yet they also realized that people stumble, get distracted, and make poor choices. Jesus told people to Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself.
WOW! What a radical command!
Often, I have admitted that it is beyond my capacity. Wise spiritual mentors say that is beside the point. Many faith traditions call on followers to live beyond human capacity.
An Invitation
In the last few years, I have accepted this challenge. Maybe you ll join me in the coming year.
May we seek and find who God wants us to be and what He wants us to do. Even if certainty and perfection are beyond us, perhaps greater clarity about spiritual truth and more peace are attainable. Maybe blessing more people or blessing people more significantly would be enough to make the next year worthwhile. If so, how would we know that happened?
What more noble life do you aspire to next year?
This post was adapted from my book, Building Legacy Wealth.
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Terry Moore, CCIM, is the author of Building Legacy Wealth: How to Build Wealth and Live a Life Worth Imitating. Read his “Welcome to My Blog.”