He was still a child once. I wrote a paper on nurture v nature once and it was one of the most powerful life altering moments for me. If you take an innocent soul, raise them in middle class, the taliban, a monastery, nazi Germany… is it the soul that is corrupted (nature) or the environment (nurture) that corrupted it? How do loving parents who dote on a child produce psychopaths? Why do people raised in the worst kind of environment turn out to be beautiful? Nurture or nature?
40 And the king shall answer, and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it to me. 41 Then shall he say to them on the left hand, Depart from me ye cursed, into everlasting fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I thirsted, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in unto you: I was naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, and say, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. - Matthew 25:40-45
If the whole world were cruel, then no man would have a chance.
It takes kind hearts, doing works for the Lord, which plant seeds in the withered souls of the abused and corrupted.
Despite all the odds, the seed that is the Holy Spirit needs only but a drop of water to shatter the dry soil and sprout.
All those we think are beyond saving may have a seed planted in them from long, long ago. We need only douse the seed, hidden among layers of foul soil, with the life-saving water of God's Love and it will sprout like the mustard seed. The smallest of seeds, producing the largest of plants.
The foul environment they grow up in only make it harder to find the seeds planted by acts of kindness they'd witnessed long ago. Harder, but not impossible, because nothing is impossible for the Lord, our Father.
In everyone's lives there are moments where we witness genuine acts of kindness that scorch themselves on our psyche. They do so because, in a cruel unfeeling, unloving world it is a mystery. Why?
Why would that person sacrifice their self for another? Don't we live in a "survival of the fittest" type of world? Hasn't my "kill or be killed" philosophy proven correct? Why, then, would this person act as he did? Why would he put so much effort into others? Why is it so mesmerizing? Why can't I get it out of my mind? That look he gave, the face he made! I can't stop seeing his face... So much pain, and yet he was... happy?! Almost relieved? What is this manner of peace I saw in his eyes as they whipped his bloody figure to a pulp? He even forgave them! WHY!? What did he get out of it? He's mad, that's it. He was just insane, a madman, not right in the head. He put others before himself and that's what he got. He got what he deserved. He's dead, and I'm alive, so that makes me right and him wrong. But... that face... I've never seen peace such as that. I've never known peace such as that... Do I want that peace? Do I need that peace? Why can't I stop thinking about it!?
All it takes is one ember to light the eternal bonfire of our hearts. One act, one drop, and the seed takes root. We as Christians must believe this. It is the fruit of His Passion. We have so much to gain in Heaven, in paradise, to be joined by the ones we hated at the common table of friendship.
In eternal paradise, one more soul to share it with is yet another eternal lifetime of experiences and loving moments. We'd be fools to turn down an opportunity to have another friend when we stare at all eternity before us.
I hope this offers you a plausible answer. God bless.
It is a mystery for sure. Imho, people appear to have a level of rigidity to Truth and Morals out of the gate. Those that have challenging beginnings may actually strengthen their resolve -- or atleast hold on to their connection to what is true, right, and moral. Others can have "the ideal" and still manage to become sociopathic.
If we live to become adults, we are responsible for the content of our character. That's the basis of Western Civilization. (or a cornerstone, anyway)
He was still a child once. I wrote a paper on nurture v nature once and it was one of the most powerful life altering moments for me. If you take an innocent soul, raise them in middle class, the taliban, a monastery, nazi Germany… is it the soul that is corrupted (nature) or the environment (nurture) that corrupted it? How do loving parents who dote on a child produce psychopaths? Why do people raised in the worst kind of environment turn out to be beautiful? Nurture or nature?
I haven’t found the answer.
If the whole world were cruel, then no man would have a chance.
It takes kind hearts, doing works for the Lord, which plant seeds in the withered souls of the abused and corrupted.
Despite all the odds, the seed that is the Holy Spirit needs only but a drop of water to shatter the dry soil and sprout.
All those we think are beyond saving may have a seed planted in them from long, long ago. We need only douse the seed, hidden among layers of foul soil, with the life-saving water of God's Love and it will sprout like the mustard seed. The smallest of seeds, producing the largest of plants.
The foul environment they grow up in only make it harder to find the seeds planted by acts of kindness they'd witnessed long ago. Harder, but not impossible, because nothing is impossible for the Lord, our Father.
In everyone's lives there are moments where we witness genuine acts of kindness that scorch themselves on our psyche. They do so because, in a cruel unfeeling, unloving world it is a mystery. Why?
All it takes is one ember to light the eternal bonfire of our hearts. One act, one drop, and the seed takes root. We as Christians must believe this. It is the fruit of His Passion. We have so much to gain in Heaven, in paradise, to be joined by the ones we hated at the common table of friendship.
In eternal paradise, one more soul to share it with is yet another eternal lifetime of experiences and loving moments. We'd be fools to turn down an opportunity to have another friend when we stare at all eternity before us.
I hope this offers you a plausible answer. God bless.
You always write so beautifully and kind hearts are the key to happiness and goodness. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and insight!
It is a mystery for sure. Imho, people appear to have a level of rigidity to Truth and Morals out of the gate. Those that have challenging beginnings may actually strengthen their resolve -- or atleast hold on to their connection to what is true, right, and moral. Others can have "the ideal" and still manage to become sociopathic.
If we live to become adults, we are responsible for the content of our character. That's the basis of Western Civilization. (or a cornerstone, anyway)