Do to others....

...as you would have them to do you.

The modern day church takes the cake on feeding children guilt-laden sundays.

Don't get me wrong, it's very subtle and almost caring and genuine. Sneaky, very sneaky.

You are taught to become a martyr to yourself... that you are never going to be good enough without the blood of Jesus. I may believe that I need Jesus' love and acceptance to hang out with him for eternity... but I don't need it to be a good person here on earth.

Plenty of non-believers can be loving and giving and kind and all the things that 1 Corinthians 13 says. I can smile alot and feel genuine love without believing that Jesus died on a cross. I can build houses for hurricane victims and complete beautiful, spiritual art projects as a "pagan."

And all the while, i can feel good, genuinely good, about myself. And I don't believe that has anything to do with Jesus.

Now, let's say I do follow "christian" doctrine. And I live my life in the shadow of Jesus of Nazereth's life. That's just swell. I think if everybody on this planet lived like Jesus did we'd be a whole lot better off... and we'd have some damn good self-esteem. The same could be said about Mother Teresa, the Dali Lama or even some new-age betty living in the forests of Oregon.

I guess what i'm trying to say is that for YEARS I have had no real, true love for myself. At some points in my life, I think the church fed that feeling... by making feel as though without Jesus, I am nothing. That is simply not true. I am a human. I am capable of loving others AS MUCH AS I love MYSELF!!!!! I am capable of doing great things. And I am capable of thinking - of using the brain that God has bestowed upon human nature in positive and creative ways.

I am not capable of being in God's presence without the blood of Jesus. Thank God for that... that's all we should be given. The rest is up to us.

Love your neighbor... but also love yourself. You can't treat someone else kindly if you can't treat yourself kindly.