Mother Teresa Had It Right

I wrote the following down awhile back and saved it for a rainy day.

I was talking with my son one day and I was telling him that if you want kindness you have to show kindness. You get what you give. 

He looked at me with deep eyes and said, “Mom, you know that is not really how the world works? Being a good person doesn’t get you anywhere in the world. Treating people the way you want to be treated rarely results in you being treated the same. ”

It was a sad thought and I was taken aback because I realized he had crossed the point of being a doe-eyed kid and he was really struggling with something.

I thought about it for a few minutes, paused,  and told him that he was completely right and I really hadn’t thought that through. Kindness doesn’t always get you anywhere nor do you get those attributes returned often in this world.  In fact, many times, the ones being mean and hurtful seem to get recognition and admiration.  I, then, told him that the deal is: As Christians, we do it anyway because we are not serving this world but serving God. We love because that is what God expects from us. We work for his glory and we pray for those that hurt us that they may see God’s grace and love from our actions. Those that persecute us or hurt us can only reach us if we let them. 

I told Wade that we get angry, we mess up, we are devastated and frustrated at times, and that is okay. We are human and God knows. He KNOWS us! The whole point is to do the best we can and trust that it will work out in the end.

 You see, many of us teach our kids from a young age that hard work, getting the grades, and doing the right thing will pay off but thinking about Wade and those deep eyes I know it is not always the case. The golden rule is do unto others as you would have them do to you.

The thing we have to remember is that the golden rule does not guarantee success or kindness.

Let’s face it, this world is not fair and hard work is not always rewarded.  Just as kindness doesn’t beget kindness.  Some people take advantage of those that work hard and are kind. While others, question motives and even ostracize and make fun.  Many of us are crushed when we have worked hard or have shown kindness and it is not returned. We become bitter and struggle with feelings of not being enough because we are passed over for someone that may not be kind or may not put in the work.

We should work hard and do the right thing because we are doing it for ourselves and God, not for man.  The idea is to be able to lay our heads to bed at the end of the day with the knowledge that we get angry, we mess up, we are devastated and frustrated at times, and that is okay. We are human and God knows. He KNOWS us! The whole point is to do the best we can and trust that it will work out in the end.

After all Mother Teresa had it right when she said, “We do it anyway…You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.”

 

Mother Teresa’s Anyway Poem

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

 

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