From the Inside Out

The other day I was sitting in line at Starbucks. I admit it, I was reading my text messages while I waited my turn. The car in front of me moved up, and I was distracted. The guy behind me laid on his horn, called me a name I can’t write here, and used an inappropriate hand gesture. You know the one I mean. So much anger was spilling from him that it was like an avalanche coming out of his pores.

The bottom-line message of the Gospel is, Evil does not come from what we ingest; it comes from what we pour into the world by our words and actions. 

Jesus is talking about good and Evil. No one questions that we have lots of both in the world. The questions this Gospel is asking are, “What talk, actions, and attitudes do I allow myself to take in?” Do I make a home for unrest, the violence of word or action, negativity, disgust, and despair within the very soul of my being? If I do, then that is also what I will give out into the world. If I allow myself to be tied in knots over whatever the political situation is in our country, then words of anger will be what I find myself speaking. Suppose I allow myself to listen to negative talk about others or to judge other’s motives. In that case, the words of condemnation will be the words that come from my lips. 

I can be aware of the world and political situation but not allow it to make a home in my soul. In that case, I will remain focused on the goodness of God around me. That goodness will be what echoes from my soul into the world. So likewise, if I refuse to allow myself to cast judgment on another or speak with arrogance and intolerance about others. Then words of Grace will be my legacy.

We need to each find the deepest place in our soul and go there often. That is where what we cherish and value live. And we must protect our core. Because only we choose what we allow in and what we ban from our soul. If negativity and judgment come from my mouth, then it is evil that I have allowed to take up residence in my soul. If kindness, humility, compassion, and love come from my mouth, then it is God who abides in me.

There is good news. If Evil and toxicity have invaded our deepest parts, we need not despair. We can change the situation. We are not victims. Every day, we choose again what we allow within us. With the help of God, we can banish Evil and replace it with God. Vigilance is required because Evil is persistent. 

When we bar the door of our soul to negativity, we open the window to goodness, kindness, trust, and God. If we allow God to take root at the center of our soul, then we will be witnesses of God. Our words and actions will bless the world, and Grace working through us will transform it.

I don’t know if you know what a “fiat” is. The word is said,“fee-aught.” It is a word with a deep biblical meaning. Fiat is a condition that can be no other. For example, a fiat is that God in goodness and love created the world. Mary’s fiat was the Magnificat. It is something without condition or exception. 

If we are to ever see and know the Kingdom of God among us, we will need to become people of fiat. We choose to become a community that will not allow negativity, the judgment of others, toxicity, and violence to have any space in our lives or our hearts. We live without any condition that will allow Evil to grow. Our fiat is our unwavering belief that God is within us and we are within God.

In God’s Endless love,

Gwen

P.S. Oh, when I got to the window at Starbucks, I paid for the guy’s order behind me. Then, I asked the cashier to wish him a day filled with joy and goodness.