Ways
of
Praise

You know

humans start out in life having to trust those around them

to feed them and care for them

and keep them alive.

The baby doesn't know where this food and caring comes from,

but it just has to trust in its Creator,

its Maker and Shaper, the All-Provider.

But then a child begins to grow,

and begins to know itself,

and it becomes so fascinated by what it discovers

it forgets the One Who first made it.

And the same goes for others around it,

and sometimes it seems that the older they get

the more forgetful of God they become.

And with forgetfulness comes temptation.

And the temptation is to think that

if they lie to those around them

and cheat those around them,

and steal from those around them,

that will mean they have more for themselves

And indeed they will in some ways,

but the trouble with being so selfish

is that selfishness can never be satisfied.

A jealous self will only ever want,

because there will always be more in the world to want.

Only being grateful to God can really keep a human satisfied.

For a people to be at ease together

they have to feel that they can

leave what they own without it being stolen.

They have to feel that they can trade together

and not discover later

that the goods they bought were not what they were said to be.

People need to know they can believe each other when they tell them things.

People want to be able to trust their neighbours.

Clearly

in a community the ideal way of life

is one where the members of that community can trust each other.

So they try to teach their children the value of telling the truth,

because being honest in what they say

is the first step towards

being honest in what they do.

And being honest means

not stealing or cheating.

But it all starts with each and every person as they grow,

learning the difference between good and bad,

and understanding that the good is best for everybody.

Learning the best way to be,

and knowing that the most important thing they can do

to bring about the trustworthy community they want

is to start by being Trustworthy themselves.

But there are other Ways of Being

that help us deal with what we do in life,

and help us deal with those around us.

Is there anything wrong with being proud?

Is it better to be ever so humble?

Is hard work all it takes?

What's wrong with lazy?