Residents raising a stink brings results on sewage odor
July 26, 2011Samuel Harvey Sr.
July 28, 2011In the good ol’ days, public schools talked about the three R’s, reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic, taught to the tune of a hickory stick.
In religious schools, they added a fourth R: religion.
Another four R’s are the key survival skills for religious life today. They are roots, rituals, relationships and realities.
R 1: Roots: Roots are just as crucial to human beings as they are to plants and trees. Even in our mobile culture, we still need to develop a sense of who we are based on our place of origin. Knowing something about our racial and cultural backgrounds is important.
Likewise, Christians need to get in touch with their roots. To understand who has gone before us and passed on the faith to us involves a complex root system that is now nearly 2,000 years old. While we do not need to memorize every branch and aspect of that life-supporting nourishment, we do need to recognize the dense complexity of those roots that gives us the solid ground we stand on.
R 2: Rituals: None of us can survive in a life that is barren of beauty, lacking decoration, and empty of ritual. Special markings and moments help us define the borders of our lives and the passing of our days. We practice some rituals so often they become ingrained habits. We all have our “morning rituals,” which help us get up and prepare to face a new day.
Rituals move us through life with intention and integrity. Without rituals, the sands of time run unheeded through the hourglass of our lives. With rituals, these same grains of sand create a particular pattern or design that helps tell the story of our lives.
The church, of course, is steeped in ritual. Our worship of God plunges us into rituals. We mark our entrance into the church, our reaching maturity, our commitment to love another person for life, our celebration of a loved one’s life in death, all with meaningful rituals. Rituals speak to our hearts and send a message to our souls; they enrich our faith.
R 3: Relationships: We all want good, solid relationships, but too often we settle for superficial, casual ties. Today we have iPhones, fax machines, email, Facebook, texting, and many other ways of communicating. We are more connected than ever before, yet we are lonelier. Our gadgets have not deepened our relationships; they have enslaved us.
Our religion is based on relationships: love God above all things and love each other as we love ourselves are the two great commandments. That takes a lot of work. The Bible tells us we are to be devoted to, give preference to, love, edify, serve, be patient with, be kind to, forgive, esteem, teach, encourage and pray for one another. We are not to hurt, judge, provoke, slander or complain against one another. Only hard work can produce deep relationships.
R 4: Realities: We all have different realities to deal with, death, disease, rejection, loss of a job, conflict, loneliness and disabilities. However, this does not excuse us from our choices or responsibilities.
Dr. Laura Schlessinger says that the question most frequently asked of her in radio, magazine, TV or newspaper interviews is: “‘Now that I’ve done all these things I shouldn’t have done, how can I avoid the consequences I knew, but denied, and just hoped would not happen?”
When virtue and values determine our choices, we bring purpose, meaning and integrity to our lives. We need to claim our destiny as sons and daughters of God created in the divine image. The four R’s, roots, rituals, relationships and realities, can help us do that.
