
A Prompt for Collaborative Critical Thinking:
What is required to be a genuinely loving and faithful individual?
"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)
If we're heeding Yeshua's ("Jesus Christ's") decree found in the Gospel of Matthew, "to do for others as we yearn that others do for us" then we're listening to the wisdom of the people of God including He and doing good, we're helping life to be good and even to become better and remain good forever.
Some things I've learned about faith from others:
When I asked a therapist named Alex what he thought I should know from Catholicism, he said, "humility is the mother of all virtues".
This is so very true of my experience. Any time I've strayed from being humble about what I'm aware of and can do, I risked the goodness of our lives. Conversely, when I kept humility and even remembered why I should be proud I did good, I was "fruitful" ("Be fruitful and multiply." Genesis 1:28).
To be aware of what God wants us to do, what God by understanding deems would be wise for us requires willingess to listen in a perhaps unusual way.
Recently, Dr. Marshall Rosenberg described this with the light-hearted phrase "use your giraffe ears" (Compassionate Communication | Aware Learning).
We can listen for one another's legitimate needs even if someone is angry, seeking out welcomed discernment of what is necessitated for preservation and furthering of good in life.
And though we may be tempted to think less of someone if they're angry, we are cautioned to not wrongly compare ourselves to any other person:
And likewise, just because a fellow human being is (temporarily) in homeless circumstance or similarly down on their luck doesn't mean they aren't worthy to receive adequate clothing, shelter and good food and water (Noetic and Bodily Health | Aware Learning). I've been on both sides of this and it feels quite good to have given and to have received honorably many times.
By each of us that adopts a genuinely cooperative and humble attitude towards life we may learn and grow more and more quickly.
