brother can you spare some change?

My sister asked me to write and essay about how I think we can or should change the world. This is a topic I've had several discussions with people about, and it's important. Change is occurring, every moment. The state of change could arguably be the only permanent feature in reality as we know it. Some things may not appear to change, but that's just a matter of perspective.
The idea that people have that things are a certain fixed way is perhaps the greatest barrier to happiness and satisfaction in life. We come to believe that a certain thing is a certain way and when we look to it, and it is not, then we feel tension or anxiety because we have to rework the formula of our interactions.
In the world at large, lots of issues exist, big issues about food, water, generally environmental security all around. This is a result of course of mankind's fascination with combustion powered machinery. But even predating that, security in one's environment has seemingly been a constant for fearful men (please allow the masculine term to represent the general).
Issues about the treatment of other living beings are also very present. From global war to slave labor and uneven access to health and all other services. But none of these are new issues either.
If I was to recommend to a person how they could act to change the world, it would be to stop looking out to the world and it's issues and how to effect them. Start first with the interior life, change how you view yourself and others, how you react to the environment and how you engage socially with your fellows.
One cannot directly through means of force create anything. The laws of thermodynamics show that energy and matter cannot be created or destroyed. But changed. We can change. As individuals; by living patiently, with kindness, and humility, and perseverance. By being a positive field of energy, we can positively influence the world around us to feel and be more positive as well. If enough people were to persist in this sort of activity. Because altering the interior life is an active process, even if it doesn't outwardly appear so. If enough people engaged themselves so, the world itself would rapidly change.
So brother, spare me some change, take the time to take time, think out the effects of the change that you are constantly making in the world, and change it for the better.

faith of

The faith of

I've almost always been a person of faith. Admittedly, in the midst of my adolescence, I was a person of little faith. But, it is something important to me. I would even venture so far, being a North American, to assert that it is something of importance to most people in my culture. Even, perhaps especially so to many who call themselves atheists. A perhaps better ascribed term for many would be, anti-theist. A vehement refusal to accept G-D and perhaps even to have as dogmatic a faith in science as the dogmatism they loathe.

Now, let us veer for a moment towards our object and discuss dogmatism. Searching for the definition of dogma: results,  a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true. “the Christian dogma of the Trinity”

So, the dogma is the man-made rules about G-D. What must be true, even, what must be accepted in order to be approvable in the sight of G-D according to your fellow man.

Perhaps, man, what a bugbear. The example itself from the dictionary exemplifies the dogma of the trinity, which I believe is a catholic dogma, (that even being the faith I was raised in) which really typifies the sort of problems that come from dogma. The roman catholic church insists that G-D is three and one at the same time. This of course brings up an issue for Muslims, who believe that G-D is one and only one all the time.

Now, we could go further down that line, much much further, but, let's not. We'll allow it to be sufficient to contend with the premise that “true rules” get in between people and what they may feel comfortable believing, because others have told them that if they don't believe in certain “true rules” then whatever they DO believe really doesn't matter, because it's not good enough.

In the Gospel of John, chapter 14, verse 6, the following is read: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Now, I might contend that the interpretation of this verse has led to a dogma that has rent many further separate from their true spiritual lives than anyone could desire.

Now, we're going to veer right back into the topic of this essay, the faith of. The dogma of faith in Jesus Christ gets in the way of living the faith of Jesus Christ.

I think the key to understanding this argument is the phrase 'I AM'.

So, I just did some digging around in the scriptures, to make a case to support my argument, which I can still do, I think, but I do feel the need to make a brief reprieve to amend it. It is a sufficient step to have faith in Christ alone. But the message of Jesus' life and teachings also extends beyond that into a disclipline, that would make one who follows him to become a gateway to him for the world. Or a gateway to the world for him. By living the faith of Jesus we can also be an example of 'I AM' for our brothers and sisters, just as Jesus, our big brother, was.

Evangellion

I am a man who deeply loves the gospel. I do not consider myself alone in this, but perhaps sometimes it might be a lonely proposition. I consider this the case because there are many who do not know or have forgotten what the gospel is. In greek the word evangellion was used, and to roughly translate the meaning, the gospel is 'good news'.

But what, exactly, is the good news? To many people who consider themselves Christians, the good news is that God's only begotten Son was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered, died, and was buried in the remittance of the sins of mankind and that faith in Him will lead to eternal salvation. To a vocal and powerful few, many might think that the gospel is 1 Cor 6:9 "Don't you know that those who do wrong will have no share in the Kingdom of God? Do not fool yourselves. Those who engage in sexual sin, who are idol worshipers, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals..."

While both of these things may have their share in truth, when I consider the gospel, it draws to mind a complex recursion. A thing inside itself. Sort of like the bag you keep under your sink or in your utility closet, what is that bag full of? More bags. Bags inside of bags inside of bags. To a person with no faith at all, the Bible is good news, to a person approaching faith, Christ is good news, to a person of faith, self control is good news. And the topic that personally interests me in this essay is the good news that Christ spoke himself.

In Matthew 4:17 "From then on, Jesus began to preach, "turn from your sins and turn to God, because the Kingdom of God has come.""
When he sent out His disciples He told them to share the same message that the Kingdom is at hand.
 Luke 17:20-21 "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the Kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, "The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, 'Lo here!' or 'Lo there!' for, behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.""

In us lies the Kingdom of God. We are the ground into which the seed of faith is planted. In order for that tiny morsel of faith to develop in us so that we may develop as brothers and sisters in Christ, we must tend our field.

We must stand guard that the fowls of fear do not come and rob us of our faith. We must remove the stones of our past pains and self doubt so that we can make loose soil for roots to grow, so that affliction and persecution cannot shake our faith loose.

Daily we must strive to pull the thorny wees of worldly care, concerns of wealth, lusts and desires for things not pertaining to God or the kingdom which might choke out the fruit growing from the Truth.

By being the good fertile ground that hears the word, we can produce much greatness for God and the glory of all his work.

It is with this constant mindfulness that the Kingdom of God is ever present in our lives and our endeavor to keep our feild in order that we become disciples.

Then we begin to focus on the commandment Love. Love one another as brothers and friends. And forgive. If your brother trespasses against you seven times in a day, and seven times turns and says, "I repent". Forgive him.

For every moment is new and every moment is an opportunity for pure love. This is the gospel I read.

listening

In the Era of Christ's lifetime there were quite a few luminaries, none quite so brilliant perhaps, but still deeply profound and well worth learning from. One such is the slave-philosopher Epictetus. Like Jesus, he did not write his own wisdom but it was recorded by those around him.I highly recommend you take the time to look up "The Golden Sayings of Epictetus" one of them is as follows: "God gave you two ears and one mouth, so that you might listen more than you speak."
In Luke 6:31, and several other places in the Gospels, Jesus is found extolling a simple principle. "Do for others as you would like them to do for you." Currently, in the social media society, we find that we have a countless number of prompts to share our opinions. So much so that it's quite possible that a lot of people are mindlessly making noise. Obviously, even if we don't know what we are trying to say, we want to be heard.
I've come to the opinion over the years that one of the very few things we can do to help and heal the many groups of displaced and disenfranchised people in the world is to give them a voice. Not necessarily to fix their problems for them, but to let them know that they are esteemed, their story is worth hearing, and someone wants to understand and empathize.
We're all making a lot of noise, and we make more and more because no one is listening. If we break the cycle and listen, then we will truly be doing for others as we want done for us.