Why I’m better then you!!!
No, I don’t think I’m better then you, got to get that out right now, but that doesn’t mean my actions don’t sometimes reflect the title of this blog. You’ll see what I mean shortly.
I got to thinking about this after a conversation I was having in the office, mainly about how our society is in this mind set that “we DESERVE to have nice things”, cars, cell phones, a nice house, you name it, we all seem to thing we deserve to have these things even we we aren’t willing to work half as hard as our Grandparents did who had much less, materially speaking. It s the mind set of, “I deserve”, that has lead to a society of people who think they are better then there neighbors and friends. If you don’t think your one of them, then take a minute and see if you’ve ever done anything from the following list.
Have you ever cut someone off on the freeway? Cut in line at the supermarket? Answered your cellphone in a quite public place(library, the office, in line at the bank or store), have you ever taken anything that didn’t belong to you? Maybe something very small, it doesn’t matter, or have you ever taken advantage of another person, in other words you requested something of that person because you knew they would be willing to do anything for you but you were simply using that to get what you wanted without considering the person at all?
I know I would say of some of these, “I’d never do that” even when I probably have, to others I’d say, yeah I’ve done that, but who hasn’t? Honestly, even the “smallest” of these indicates and attitude that says, I’m better then you! I figure most people here go to the gym, ever hop on a piece of equipment while the person using it went to get a drink of water? Did you even ask to see if someone was still using it, even when there was water or a towel still on or near the equipment?
I’m sure most of us don’t consciously think we are better then others, but our actions probably say the exact opposite. As a society we are constantly steeling from one another, we take each others time, we take each others opportunities, we take each others affections, and the list goes on. We’ve forgotten how to give, I’m not talking about the guy standing at the street corner holding a sign saying “I’m hungry, please help. God Bless”, that guy is steeling himself, he isn’t willing to work for a living, not when there is a shelter that will take him in each night, give him a meal and never ask for anything in return, no he’ll gladly take the little money you give him, along with the hundreds of others and live a life beholden to no one. Yes, even the homeless person’s actions say he thinks he is better then everyone else.
I can’t give any quick answers for anyone, but I don’t want to be known as a taker, I’d rather be a giver. I’d rather be the person who humbly steps back and lets other go ahead. I know I’ve already been given far more then I deserve and from that I want to give to others. I know sometime I’ll fail, I’ll still cut people off in traffic, sorry I’m a bad motorcyclist, but I do want to be more giving. If you ever try it, you’ll find giving is much more satisfying then taking, but for those who are trying to give back to me, I’ll try to be better at accepting, I tend to have a hard time with that one too.
Anyhoo, this was a “Food for thought” post, comment if you like, more then anything I wanted to get people to stop for a moment and think!
God has blessed you!
-Oak
November 4, 2009 at 1:23 pm
i agreed with you all the way to the point of the homeless person. if you’ve ever been in their lives, there is little they have to be thankful about. one thing is clear. most of them are happier without things than we are with them. greed is powerful. i think you were alluding to that. granted, plenty of homeless people drove themselves to that point by drug addictions or laziness, but you cannot deny the fact that everyday you and i walk past them on the street and fail to give them every dime in our pockets. why? cause like you said, we too are greedy. my parents recently went to a third world country and told me that since there are no classes there (all poverty), the people were all happy and shared amongst each other with all they had. think about that for a minute. your only meal for a day and you gladly split it with the rest so they have enough to eat.
November 4, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Ernyo, I get your point and to the people who are forced into those conditions my hear truly goes out to them. I’d certainly want to give of my time and money to help them get on their feet, I’m sure if they had a way up they’d work hard for it. But I’m also sure you’ve seen the guy on the street corner day in and day out, I see the same all the time in Bakersfield. Having family working in the homeless center I also know that most of these people don’t care to better their lives. I certainly want to help those who want to work and produce as I do, but to those who take without ever planning on somehow giving back(to society in general), those I have a hard time giving to, I don’t wish them hardship, but if they couldn’t survive begging, they would probably actually work for a living. We generally always do what we must to survive, but for some all they have ambition for is to beg on street corner when there is available the opportunity to work.
Thank you for the response, and I do agree, that sometimes I simply don’t take the time because I’m more into myself at the moment then helping someone who could genuinely be in need.
November 5, 2009 at 1:00 pm
We always seem to forget one of the primary principles we all learned in kindergarten: Treat others the way you would want to be treated!
it’s sad.
November 5, 2009 at 2:26 pm
ArmdandFabuolous: so true, I tend to think we are all still just children with bigger better toys, like the Toys’R"us song, we haven’t ever grown up!