The Root of God

You do not have to believe in God to follow God or to do God’s work. The root of doing the things of God are kindness and charity. If you are being kind to those around you, whether you like them or not, you are following the call of the Holy Spirit. If you are giving to those less fortunate than yourself, either with a monetary donation or with your personal time and talent, then you are following the teaching of God and Church. Doing something good, is in part, the call of God.

When you boil it all down and reduce it to a concentrated teaching/philosophy, God wants us to reach out to each other with kindness and charity. If it’s not good, then it’s not of God. Goodness is understanding the beliefs of another, and not burning their books. Good is understanding the

humanity of another, and not condemning them, and certainly not harming them, because of their lifestyle choice. How a person dresses is as much a cultural standard as it is a practical necessity. Their clothing choices may tell you something about the person, but it does not give you reason to judge or denounce them.

We understand that not all people are good people, and that forces us to be aware of our surroundings. We usually extend to most people some degree of trust at the outset. And most people will either build or dispose of that trust rather quickly. Their “good” or “wickedness” will be fairly easy to see, especially if you listen carefully to what they are saying. As I’ve talked about in previous journal entries.

Usually we make conscience decisions. We decide what we will believe based on any number of things. Sometimes these decisions are firm, and sometimes they are more haphazard in nature. We also make subconscious decisions. These decisions are based increasingly on an inner awareness. That “gut” feeling we get on the occasion. That “right” thing to do, even if you really don’t know why. In either case I believe this is the Holy Spirit that moves us to do the “right” thing.

The “right thing” centers on kindness and charity. This is the root of God. This what the concentrated teaching of God is. Kindness and charity are two basic moral institutions that most have instilled in us from a young age. Simply by practicing kindness and charity you are following the call of God, whether you know it or not, as guided by the Holy Spirit.

Let us all be guided into kindness and charity.

by David E. Gonzales