Jots and Tittles

As the new President restated his oath of office, a thought occurred to me, it is about our need to dot our "i"s and cross our "t"s to insure that we would concur with the strictest letter of the law in order not to suffer repercussions. In light of all the many things that are wrong in our world, we choose to concern ourselves with the tiniest of details for fear of retribution. We must look very foolish to the world. We seek to make magnanimous gestures to improve our image so as to convince the world that our way is the right way. We tell the world it should live to our standards and practices because it is the right thing to do. We take action to erase what could be misconceived to be selfish in our intent. We allow our actions to dictate the very substance of the global picture we present and if we object to those actions, WE condemn them for the world to see. Our media seems to concentrate on the negative aspects of life and government in the name of full and transparent disclosure. Are we so naive as to think that the world is not looking? We see our weaknesses as "breaking news", we delight in the fact that someone has broken the law. We splash the headlines with evil, corruption, degradation, and murder; then we seek to change the world to our way. We spend billions of dollars and effort attempting to change the hearts and minds of the world population to see that our relative wealth is achievable within the bounds of "our way". The woes of our economy are portrayed as disastrous and akin to the Depression of the 30's. There are more than a few people who would gladly trade our Depression of the 30's for their reality of today. Yet we wring our hands at the failure of our banking systems as the world starves. We are hopelessly "wrapped around the axle". We are bogged down by our very effort to save the world. We are focused on what's wrong to the extent that we can't do what's right.

Sadly, it is a trickle down effect to the individual. We align ourselves directly with the media and the bad news of the day. My observations are that we face such negativity in our world that we actually cry when a common act of kindness occurs. Doesn't it seem strange that we have become so calloused that we cry out for a little kindness. Jesus faced much of the same frustration as He preached the Sermon on the Mount. He found a people so wrapped around the particulars of the Law (Torah) that they failed to see the true basis of Scriptures. He found it necessary to point out to them the good things around them. The insistence on the complete compliance with the Law had made the people calloused to the soft side of life. He blessed the meek, the poor, the peaceful, gentle, the hungry, the poor spirited and sorrowful people to show them it was OK to be everyday people with everyday problems. He turned to the interpreters of the Law and said they were wrong in their strict interpretation. He began to write the love of God and their fellow man on their hearts and minds not only in a book of Laws. He describes them as the salt of the earth and the light of the world so they could see their worthiness for the love of God. In Matthew 5: 17-20, Jesus explains, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled" The authorities were afraid this new religion was going to usurp their authority and make the people see them in an unfavorable light. Jesus was telling the people of His intent not to sweep away that established religion but to fulfill its prophecies. Jesus wants the commandments of Love written in the hearts and minds of all men. Love God and love one another is the simple truths that we must live everyday moment of everyday. Have a grateful heart filled with love.