A New Vision
This past weekend, during our last JVC retreat, I had the chance to reflect on what the year has meant to me. With this in mind, I have been thinking about what I would say if someone asked me what I took away from this year. I would like to focus on one thing, one major lesson that I feel I have learned, that I will take away from this year and bring into future events. This is what I would say.
I spent much of the year trying to figure out why people do the things they do, why the guys at the Center act the way they do. Why there is, relatively speaking, a higher incidence of lying, cheating, stealing, etc. than in other populations. I thought about this a lot and discussed this a lot and feel as though I have come to some sort of conclusion. My main assertion is that people are not natually evil. This is something that I simply do not believe. Everyone, no matter how hard it may be to see, is inherently good. I truly believe this. Which means that people act in evil ways, not because they are bad, but because something causes, or pushes, them to do so. Generally, people act bad because they have been taught to act bad, or the way they act is the only way they really know how to act. It has been a part of their life since they were born. Some people may call this the socialization of behavior or say that nurture is more important in the development of personality than nature (we could also discuss genetic predisposition to acting certain ways and discuss mental illness, which is often times mostly genetic, but not right now). So basically we should not judge people for acting the way they do. We should seek to understand why they act the way they do, forgive them if necessary and then love them for the good that we find in them. Above all, give people a chance or two or three to get on their feet and make good for themselves. And DO NOT JUDGE. This is what we do at the Center and what others in JVC do.
Now fast forward a bit. I am driving with Steve along 18-mile drive and we are nauseated by the extravagence of the houses we see. We cannot believe how much money, that could be used for social services, probably went into building these behemoth houses. But then I had to check myself. Why am I judging these people if I did not judge the guys at the Center.? Are they not inherently good too? The answer is yes, they are good. And the evils that I may see in their actions are there for the same reasons that the I used for the homeless men. I believe that people who have a lot of money and material possessions, and decide not to share, for the most part were socialized to live the way they do. They know no other way than to live (I realize that I am making some assumptions and that there are probably other explanations to go along with this idea, but what can I do, I am not judging the people I am talking about so I do not think I am really hurting anybody). So once again, from my point of view my only plan of action is to try and understand why people act the way they do, forgive them if necessary and move forward with loving actions. And above all, DO NOT JUDGE.
So what have I really learned? I have a unique position, along with fellow JVs, everyone at St. Vincent de Paul, people doing other kinds of social work, etc. on the middle ground of two extremes. I have my feet in a life of material comfort. On the other hand I have spent the year with people who are chronically homeless and do not have material comfort. I feel as though most people in JVC and at St. Vincent de Paul can say the same thing. And we are not here to fix the poor population or fix the rich population. We are here to reconcile these two extremes. We have a vision, because we have seen both worlds, of a new creation, one that contains less evil and more good. And we cannot create more equality by judging either side. We must never judge. We must seek to understand, forgive if necessary (celebrate if necessary too) and finally love to move forward. I will make a judgment and say that the middle ground we stand on is better than either extreme. This is why we must move forward and why love is the only answer. Any sort of hatred or righteousness will lead to failure. And so this is where I find myself right now. I feel as though I have a vision, limited of course, but at least looking in the right direction. And St. Vincent de Paul has provided the foundation for this new view of things. If there is one lesson I have learned from this year, I would have to say that this is it. Never judge but love, no matter what direction you are looking.
I spent much of the year trying to figure out why people do the things they do, why the guys at the Center act the way they do. Why there is, relatively speaking, a higher incidence of lying, cheating, stealing, etc. than in other populations. I thought about this a lot and discussed this a lot and feel as though I have come to some sort of conclusion. My main assertion is that people are not natually evil. This is something that I simply do not believe. Everyone, no matter how hard it may be to see, is inherently good. I truly believe this. Which means that people act in evil ways, not because they are bad, but because something causes, or pushes, them to do so. Generally, people act bad because they have been taught to act bad, or the way they act is the only way they really know how to act. It has been a part of their life since they were born. Some people may call this the socialization of behavior or say that nurture is more important in the development of personality than nature (we could also discuss genetic predisposition to acting certain ways and discuss mental illness, which is often times mostly genetic, but not right now). So basically we should not judge people for acting the way they do. We should seek to understand why they act the way they do, forgive them if necessary and then love them for the good that we find in them. Above all, give people a chance or two or three to get on their feet and make good for themselves. And DO NOT JUDGE. This is what we do at the Center and what others in JVC do.
Now fast forward a bit. I am driving with Steve along 18-mile drive and we are nauseated by the extravagence of the houses we see. We cannot believe how much money, that could be used for social services, probably went into building these behemoth houses. But then I had to check myself. Why am I judging these people if I did not judge the guys at the Center.? Are they not inherently good too? The answer is yes, they are good. And the evils that I may see in their actions are there for the same reasons that the I used for the homeless men. I believe that people who have a lot of money and material possessions, and decide not to share, for the most part were socialized to live the way they do. They know no other way than to live (I realize that I am making some assumptions and that there are probably other explanations to go along with this idea, but what can I do, I am not judging the people I am talking about so I do not think I am really hurting anybody). So once again, from my point of view my only plan of action is to try and understand why people act the way they do, forgive them if necessary and move forward with loving actions. And above all, DO NOT JUDGE.
So what have I really learned? I have a unique position, along with fellow JVs, everyone at St. Vincent de Paul, people doing other kinds of social work, etc. on the middle ground of two extremes. I have my feet in a life of material comfort. On the other hand I have spent the year with people who are chronically homeless and do not have material comfort. I feel as though most people in JVC and at St. Vincent de Paul can say the same thing. And we are not here to fix the poor population or fix the rich population. We are here to reconcile these two extremes. We have a vision, because we have seen both worlds, of a new creation, one that contains less evil and more good. And we cannot create more equality by judging either side. We must never judge. We must seek to understand, forgive if necessary (celebrate if necessary too) and finally love to move forward. I will make a judgment and say that the middle ground we stand on is better than either extreme. This is why we must move forward and why love is the only answer. Any sort of hatred or righteousness will lead to failure. And so this is where I find myself right now. I feel as though I have a vision, limited of course, but at least looking in the right direction. And St. Vincent de Paul has provided the foundation for this new view of things. If there is one lesson I have learned from this year, I would have to say that this is it. Never judge but love, no matter what direction you are looking.
posted by Ryan at 1:58 PM
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