inning Words 1/5/12
“If you must love your neighbor as yourself, it’s at least as fair to love yourself as your neighbor.” (Rosie O’Donnell) Rosie and Jesus seem to be on the same page. “You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.” I recently read that “low-self esteem is the problem behind all problems.” Rosie’s words might make for a good resolution.. Be thoughtful of others, and you could build your self-esteem. ;-) Jack

FROM RG IN ARIZONA: There is not a lot of love for oneself when one despises another. I would suggest that Rosie misses the point entirely. The idea of loving one's neighbor implies that one does indeed love oneself. For one can only give to another what one has to give. If what one has is pathological, it is the pathological that one shares with others. This is why angry or hurt people share the same with others...it's all they see, and in turn, all they give: a fruit of the tree so to speak. Rather, we need to remember Jesus said to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength AND to love thy neighbor as thyself. The first step makes the latter successful. First things first. Hopefully, Rosie and the rest of us will remember the first step, act accordingly, and we'll require less need to rephrase the great commandment.////FROM JACK: I purposely used Rosie's quote, because I think that it explains some of her behavior. To me, it also reaffirms my belief that there can be something of "good" in everyone. God sees what we can't always see.

FROM TL IN HOUSTON: Today's WWs will go into the all-time favorites folder! Thanks again for your daily inspiration.////FROM JACK: I was hoping that people would see the point of today's WWs and not be put off by who was the quoter.

FROM ILLINOIS LIZ: Wow. I actually agree w/Rosie...////FROM JACK: Rosie isn't a favorite of mine, but I used her words, because I think that they fit many situations in our lives.

FROM ANONYMOUS: These WW are our universal struggle and I think it's because when we realize someone doesn't love us and we in turn have a difficult time loving them, our self-esteem does sink. We all want peace, we all want love, we all want mutual respect and kindness in our relationships and, when that is broken, we really are aware of our sinful natures. But, somehow I think it is in the process of the agony of not being able to love someone else as we also want to be loved, when we go down to the pit of acknowledging our failure--if we do do that and don't try to anesthetize ourselves--God Who created us and is faithful will come to our aid. To me, implicit in Rosie's WW is the acknowledgment that some neighbors don't love us and we have to ask God to give us the ability to love and respect ourselves just to be able to deal with the mental, verbal, physical, emotional violence that is in this world.

FROM TAMPA SHIRL: Don't you think that parents are neglecting their job of teaching right from wrong and of teaching responsibility for one's own actions. Also the example of good living and sharing comes from the home.////FROM JACK: Ideally, morality should be taught in the home. Realistically...many homes do have that in their teaching plans. Teaching in the home is always going on. Eyes are seeing. Ears are listening. Minds are working.

FROM DR IN MICHIGAN: Thanks for today's words. When I started teaching Sunday school to 5th and 6th graders we were talking about Jesus' commandments and one young man seriously asked "what if you don't love yourself?" This has stuck with me ever since and I still don't have the perfect answer. I have noticed many people have the ability to love others and not love themselves. It is usually because they don't feel loved. That's when I try to point out how much they are loved by God. ////FROM JACK: That was an epiphany moment for you...and hopefully for that student. See tomorrow's WWs to see what I mean. The Church needs more Sunday School teachers like you. I give you an A+.