the C word…

i don't know why, but to self-identify as a Christian always made me cringe and I avoided it at all costs. of all things to be labeled as, the big C brought  discomfort and even embarrassment, especially among my large social and professional network comprised of the ultra-liberal, uber-educated and enlightened.  something about being educated and enlightened causes one to turn his or her sophisticated and culturally-aware nose down on the very idea of the C word. and this is why i myself had struggled with my own beliefs for many years.

and i know why. it's because throughout history people have committed some of the most atrocious acts and perpetuated the most abhorrent stereotypes all branded with the big C. and that C has been stretched, twisted and distorted into unrecognizable shapes. that C has been turned into a tool for condemnation and judgement.

but what I've come to know is that Christianity itself is everything but those things. and just because people use it as a justification for hate doesn't make it in itself an ideology of hate.

if you drill down to its very core, Christianity as a belief is rooted in a Love for God, and a Love for others. that's it. that's really it. Christ's message was plain and simple: Love God and Love everyone else as much as you love yourself. and if you truly examine Christ's life you would see that he had a heart for the socially and economically marginalized…those who were shunned, deemed "immoral" and considered to be of no value by society's own measuring stick.

as i contemplate this, i have to say that i can find no fault in living my life this way. and i'm going to say something that puts me to stand at risk of sounding like a peace-sign bearing hippy (and probably generating a few eye rolls):

the entire world could change if we loved everyone as much as we loved ourselves.

ok, i said it.

but seriously, stop and think about it. if in our everyday lives each and every one of us on this planet treated all who we came into contact with as well as we treat ourselves, and loved them as we loved ourselves and our own families, the world would change. we wouldn't be able to hate, we wouldn't recognize borders such as race or nationality and we wouldn't be able to kill. most importantly, our desire to take as much for ourselves would turn into a desire to give as much as we could. and we would begin to see a brother, a sister or even ourselves mirrored in those who are easy for us to judge, those who are easy for us to turn a back on.

and for me, believing in that is definitely not something to be ashamed of.