Somebody should do something! Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.  Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.  Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job.  Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it.  It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
I am not Everybody or Nobody and I am not just Anybody. I am Somebody, but what can I do? Something, anything that is helpful and positive; just not nothing.
In the story of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:29-37, we are shown that to be a good neighbor we are to help strangers in need. This is as deep as most people look at this story.
We skip over the part about the Priest and the Levite who were the religious and political leaders of the day and symbolize the ignorance and indifference to Spiritual Truth that are found in the outer observances of religion and politics.
We cannot rely upon politicians and religious leaders to do the right thing. Not that they aren’t good people, but power and money corrupt even the best of intentions. It is often the least among us, the Samaritans were a mixed race of people who were looked down upon by the Judeans, who show us the way.
“The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them” Isaiah 11:6.
“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 18:3-4. “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less” C.S. Lewis.
“Listen; be teachable… For as long as you are green, you can grow” Mother Teresa.
When you think you are right that is when you are wrong.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” Matthew 7:15.
Those who tell us who to hate and what to fear are the wolves in sheep’s clothing. Hate and fear are great motivators, they invoke an emotional response that propels people to action. Except it is usually destructive and less than helpful action. Hate and fear are lousy guides to action.
When we experience feelings of hate and fear we can recognize them as sign posts on our spiritual journey. They are calls to action, and we are of best service when we raise our conscious awareness above them before we take action.
We can ask ourselves simple questions to clarify our intentions before taking action. Am I being helpful, acting out of faith, hope and love? Or, am I being controlling and manipulative, acting out of hate or fear?
In Matthew, chapter 5, is the story of the healing of a man possessed of demons. When asked his name he replies, “Legion, for we are many.”
There are unlimited forms of hate and fear, none of which have any reality outside of our own thinking. We are all possessed by demons when we allow ourselves to hold on to thoughts of hate and fear. It is time to make a different choice. “And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love” 1 Corinthians 13:13.
Faith in God: a conscious realization of a greater reality and potential for being, hope for the future: a conscious realization of the progressive nature of reality, and love for all: a conscious realization of the inter-relatedness of creation and creator; these are to be our spiritual guides to action.
You are Somebody, and it is up to you to do what Anybody can do and Everybody should do but Nobody is doing.
Blessings of peace, joy & love. Rev. Matthew E. Long, Peace Unity Community