Flames

One last comment before the election: In my opinion, the single worst thing a political or religious leader can do is fan flames of malicious hate. Condemning hatred is the biggest log that can lodge in human eyes, blinding us to our shared humanity and mutual heritage as children of God. Once suspicion-casting, malicious hatred gets going in us as a movement of spirit, all hell can break loose. The flame of passion meant to serve life can jump out of the fireplace and burn the house down, leaving everybody wondering "How'd that happen?" History is full of tragic examples.

Firmness in the right is not the same as malicious hatred toward people. Firmness in the right can be pursued without malice, and in fact, when we are feeling God's Love, that's exactly how we want to pursue it. This is one of the most important insights we can reach - it just happens to be of enormous consequence in this election. There are lots of issues and I sympathize with perspectives in both camps, but quite frankly, to me, this issue almost completely overshadows the others. There is a lot of room for debate on things like how to manage immigration, the economy, the Supreme Court and things like that (and I get it - I have strong thoughts and feelings on those things too), but the spirit with which we move is probably the most fundamental issue in life. It sets the stage for everything else. It is what aligns or misaligns us with the Living God and the God-flame in the hearth of our hearts.

Desire and passion are God-given emotions that are key to creativity and life. Passion rooted in love is a beautiful thing and leads to creative, constructive compassion. Misaligned passion is easily abused through fear and quickly abuses, usually without seeing how until after the fact. It burns blind. It burns down.

More power to you in staying true to your God-flame as a way of life. Thanks for journeying together.

Blessings,
Scott

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