“Haiti is a great place to live” He paused and thought about it and then added, “If you’re rich.”
My guide told me this. He had the biggest smile. He meant every word he was saying.
I wondered, “Who the hell is rich here?” I was surrounded by the poorest of the poor.
The earthquake had devastated Port-au-Prince, destroying what little infrastructure they had.
We were at an outpost (a few hours drive away) in order to help the refugees that had left the city. We set up a clinic and treated their injuries. Some due to the earthquake and some not. Burns, deformities, psychological trauma. Chronic diarrhea, malnutrition, ear infections.
I remember a mother holding her baby through the window hoping to be seen before we closed the clinic.
I saw a man with COPD. He needed oxygen.
We took him to the local hospital and quickly realized we had just as much resources at our little outdoor clinic that they had there.
The ER doctor showed me the medicine he wanted to give the man. I told him we just gave him a dose of that before bringing him in. The ER doctor smiled. He was very proud that he would have chosen the same medicine.
The hospital administration wanted a bribe to get him oxygen. So we had to leave him at the hospital and pray for the best.
Sometimes that’s all you can do.
I went to New York.
I admit, I was hesitant at first. Something about that city felt overwhelming. Maybe its size made me feel small. I don’t know exactly. But it wasn’t like what I thought it would be. I loved it there.
I went to a broadway play, not sure what to expect. But I thought it would be larger than life.
It was good and we had good seats. And I could see all the actors faces and I knew…..they were just like me. Just like us. No different. Just people trying to follow their dreams. A little scared. A little nervous. But brave and going after it.
Why are we so afraid all the time?
Afraid of failure. Rejection. Sometimes even afraid of success.
What’s so bad about failing any way? Who cares?
Instagram would tell you that everyone else succeeds. Everyone else has just what they want, just what you want, just the thing to make you happy.
Think about the Ten Commandments. How would you order them in importance?
Where would: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s ass fall?
It’s kind of at the end of the list in the Bible. But that doesn’t make it less important. However, I think it does make it easier for us to push it aside.
We often link coveting with the thoughts of anger or murderous delights.
I’ll give you an example. We think: Bob got a new car. I hate him. I hope he crashes it.
Okay so that was a little blunt. And we probably don’t say that out loud. And we probably don’t think that out right. So if those words don’t come out, then we think “Hey, I’m not so bad. I don’t covet.”
But in today’s world, the new thing is not just the new things. It’s the life. You see the pictures of people on Facebook and Instagram and you want their life. Their happiness. Their joy.
But what I’m trying to tell you is that it’s all a big fat LIE.
Not that people aren’t happy. I am. It’s that these pictures are just snapshots of experiences. Heavily filtered (with a pop of blue of course).
The problem is not Social Media. The problem is our insistence that the grass is greener somewhere else.
It’s the age old temptation. Satan whispering into Eve’s ear. Adam chomping into the forbidden fruit.
It’s the idea that somehow we don’t already have exactly what we need to be happy…..inside ourselves.
When God created us, He made us whole and gave us the most mysterious gift. Freedom.
And with that freedom comes responsibility. To others. To God. To ourselves.
We are free to choose.
Free to try.
Free to fail.
Free to blame others.
Free to take responsibility.
Free to chase Evil.
Free to pursue Good.
But freedom is a double edged sword.
And it most definitely matters what end you hold.
Your hands might be a little bloody. But it’s never too late to decide.
So choose happiness.
Choose faith
Choose hope.
Choose love.
And choose life.
p.s.
p.p.s.
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