Ramblings...

I’ve been sick for a couple of weeks now so I had a lot of time on my hands therefore I’ve been reading a lot of articles on the war in Gaza, and although I am and always will be supporting Israel, I didn’t pretend that the children in Gaza and the innocent civilians do not suffer and die in horrible ways, but I will not write about who’s right or wrong because I know that I can’t be objective due to my loyalty towards Israel, so I am not qualified to pass judgment one way or another.

I also read a lot about what ISIS is doing to Christians in Iraq and the civil war in Syria. In North Korea the government is starving its own people. In Somalia there’s a civil war. There’s war in Afghanistan, Nigeria, North-West of Pakistan, Sudan, Ukraine, Iran, Burma, Yemen, and violence in many, many other countries.

I’ve watched many videos of people being murdered for no good reason, starved for no good reason, tortured and humiliated, sold or raped or forced to steal and act like animals for a piece of bread or a little water. Somebody asked me “can’t you watch something fun, like a movie or something, are you a masochist? Do you enjoy seeing all that suffering?” I had to take a deep breath. No, I do NOT enjoy watching other people’s pain, contrary to what some might think or say about me. I think that if other people have to suffer like that, the least I can do is watch so that I don’t delude myself into thinking that just because it doesn’t happen near me, it doesn’t exist.

 I know it would be so much easier to pretend that I live in a world where the biggest problem we have is depression because we’re way too self-absorbed to think about anyone else. I know it would be easy to pretend that my greatest goal is to get the newest smart-phone or to visit some exotic place. I know it would be easier to think about saving the planet and the global warming. It would be so easy to fear only other people’s opinions about me and worry about being bored. It would be so easy to convince myself that showing mercy towards animals is more humane than showing kindness to a human being. It would be so much easier to believe in evolution because THEN it would make sense that we act like animals and kill each other like crazy. I know it would be easier. Trust me, I KNOW! So you can call me stupid, because despite knowing, I chose the hard way and not close my eyes to all that is going on in the world.

I’ve watched one video of 1,500 people being executed by ISIS in Iraq and most of them were teens. The executioners became bored at some point and were killing just for sports and a fellow Christian wrote below the video ‘oh, that’s terrible! Were they Christian?’ DOES IT MATTER?!! I know it’s quite inspiring to know that people die as martyrs for Jesus, but isn’t it worse that people die for no good reason, for no noble cause? One of them might have been a doctor given a chance. One of them might have wanted to be the first man to set foot on Mars or discover some new spices of plants that no one cares about. One of them might have been the world’s greatest dad. One of them might have been in love, and all of them I’m sure left a hole in someone’s world.

Believe me, I’m not making a speech for some international contest and I’m not naïve enough to ask for world peace, I don’t even know why I’m writing this because no one will read it and go ‘gee golly, I never thought of that’. You’ll probably see my words as the longest thing you’ve read in ages and won’t bother or dismiss them as the ramblings of a fool. It would be easier not to write, but we’ve already established that I don’t know how to take the easy way.

Even though it would be so much easier to believe in evolution, I don’t. I believe in The Almighty God that created us all in His image and gave us a mind to reason with and look at another human being and think “goodness me! That’s one manifestation of God I never would have known about unless I would have looked, really looked, at this man/woman/child/old man, made in His image” and be in awe over that discovery. Yes, that ugly neighbor that I hate is made in God’s image just like the new born baby that I ooh and aah about. That man that chose to point a gun and take another person’s life is made in God’s image just like the one taking the bullet. What are we doing to ourselves?!

Rabbi Chaim of Sanz said: “The flame of God burned within me when I was young: I believed that I would turn the whole world to good. As I grew older, my enthusiasm waned, and I said: ‘I see that I will not be able to fix the entire world, so I will try to improve the people of my own town.’ Years passed, and I realized that I have bitten off more than I could chew. I then decided it would be enough to better my own family. Now that I am old, I no longer dream. My only prayer is that I should improve myself.”

 I am not young enough to believe that I can change the world, but maybe if I better myself, if I try to look at all sides of everything, if I work hard enough at loving people and helping them, if I train my eyes to look at every living human being as being a unique manifestation of God’s image and treat them as such, maybe then the world will be a better place. Not a perfect one, because I know it can’t, but maybe better than it is.

Bat Melech בת מלך

 Cristina כריסטינה