Reflections on Life and Faith,
by David Keating

7Questions - Part 3 - Doing Unto Ourselves

Canadian actor and social activist Tom Jackson once told of coming to Toronto years ago and being moved by the sight of people living on the streets. He wanted to help but wasn't sure how or where to start. A friend advised him that to look after others he also had to look after himself. Jackson went on to become a prominent actor and created the Huron Christmas Carole benefit concerts. He also put together a cross-Canada concert series called "Singing for Supper", which benefits food banks and programs across the country.

I tell this story here because of its relationship to the 7 Questions. To do unto others as we'd have them do unto us means that we have respect for ourselves as well as the "other".

Many of us were raised with a strong sense that sacrifice was the whole point of faith. And certainly sacrifice is sometimes called for. However, that approach has left many people feeling continually guilty. No matter how much they do, they've never done enough.

I am firmly convinced that one of the driving elements that keep people from exploring a faith community is the belief that they'll be "guilted" into doing ever more. Better to remain completely apart than to take that risk.

A minister I knew once gave what regular church going folk call the "money speech". The name speaks for itself. In this particular version, the minister told a parable. A farmer had a cow that delivered twin calves. Feeling blessed, he declared that when they were sold, the proceeds from one calf would go to "the Lord" and the other to the farmer and his family. Returning from the barn one day, however, the farmer looked sadly at his wife and said "The Lord's calf died".

Of course there are times when we hold back, do less than we could. But would God really want a family to suffer so He could have another calf?

The second of the 7 Questions asks if your choice will have a positive effect on you. As Jackson's friend told him, if we're going to help others we need to be in a position, both mentally and physically, to do so.

Our call to faith doesn't mean sacrifice with no consideration of self. It calls us to do everything we possibly can while also caring for ourselves.

Even more, it calls us to consider those around us. The family of the "other" and our own family are part of any choice that we make and we need to be aware of that.

This is probably the question that I have most often failed to consider deeply enough in my own life. We often say that we expect more of our family than we do of strangers. I'm certainly guilty of that. There have been times when I've made choices that were positive for the "other" and even, through a sense of satisfaction in accomplishing something, for me. At the same time, those choices didn't always reflect enough consideration for those around me. If we are all part of this web of mutuality, then certainly those closest to us are the ones most firmly anchored in it with us.

I find myself reflecting most carefully on that fourth question these days.

I want to wind up this series next time by looking at how our choices, even those we think are minor, affect a widening community, and indeed the world around us.

1. The "other" (that person or part of Creation most directly touched by your choice)
2. You
3. Those closest to the "other"
4. Those closest to you
5. Your shared community (neighborhood, workplace, organization)
6. Other communities (beyond you and the "other")
7. The world/environment/Creation

David Keating