JUNE 16, 2023
For over seventy years now, your Elevator Guy has never witnessed such a giant chasm of two ideologies in our country’s history. States, municipalities, and families have been divided by name calling and shunning. We no longer trust one another, we no longer achieve collective results that benefit the masses, we engage in unhealthy conflict around political issues rather than respect issues, we no longer hold one another accountable and there is no personal responsibility. We move from one credit card to the next, looking for more ways to throw money at situations rather than dealing with the root cause of a problem. The attitude is to “let the government” take care of things. Well, how is that working out for us?
Enough on politics, let’s move to thinking about our faith, our families, and our individual responsibilities of work in our respective careers. What are we doing to balance those important parts of our lives? Your Elevator Guy just sent his “workbook” for our Foundational Band of Brothers to an editor. (Yikes! They will be surprised at my choppy style of writing.) The first quote in my introduction is critical for us as humans and is merely a warning as to what is to come. “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” Martin Luther King. I follow it up with a quote from Stephen Mansfield which says, “The man who is self-defined, who lives only in the light of his own understanding of himself…..is a fool.”
While none of us may think we are being foolish, we are all fools at times. Some of us just more often than others. Of course, the opposite of being a fool is being wise. (Hopefully, this comes quickly in life) Something all of us should think about in our earthly lives because the end might be just around the corner. (Are you prepared?) I am not trying to be a doomsday writer here. Just trying to be realistic about bringing about a peaceful way of uniting humanity which starts with each one of us in how we treat each other. Love and respect come to mind even though some people need to be “sidelined” until they can think for the masses rather than just thinking about themselves. It’s not about you anyway.
Want to “unite humanity?” The Bible calls us men (and women) to “Be authentic, extend grace, affirm and encourage other men, be thankful, and love one another. That doesn’t seem too hard to do until you find those fools who only understand and think about themselves. (Nothing brotherly here.) This is difficult, as most of us men don’t like to be told what to do. (Don’t preach to me “Bro”) John Maxwell reminds us, “If you think you are the smartest man in the room, you need to find a bigger room.” Not much learning getting done when you play the role of “Divider in Chief.”
Here are a couple of ways you might unite humanity. Start with your own family by bringing each other closer together to help each other. “Giving” and “Forgiveness” come to mind. Help your organization or small group by being proactive in bringing value to that group. Return favors. Be a mentor or mentee to someone where you both feel needed. Be brave, as courage is needed more than ever in fighting the good fight.
Elevator Guy
Quote for the Day; “For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.” Rudyard Kipling