Disdaining evil weeds

By A. Toro

It´s a couple of years that I heard an inner voice telling me: “All of them have some dignity”. I cannot assure you it was God´s voice because I´m only certain I have my own voice, although it won´t be my own conscience, since I´m fighting myself to remove those claims I think I had above all I disdained as nothing, but as busybodies and as contemptible nuisance.

If I looked at the Scripture I would read: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female He created them” (Gen 1:27). Who am I to despising those I have disdained as a public petty nuisance?

I don´t know nothing about your country! I know that, in Venezuela and in Colombia, drug addicts, thieves, beggars, and several types of political freaks who became hero-worshipers and vagabonds are bothersome as pests, since they add no value to your life and, contrarily, they diminish it from what you thought you deserve for being “better” than them.

Those who do not have or seek your present state of alertness and social conscience —your high-minded judgment! - are also fighting to achieve a better personal condition, a sound self-wellbeing; yet these guys aren´t also pursuing a degree of justice by lawful means, by productive accepted achievements: Through the effort of a legal rewarding jobs.

Thieves want to be happy, making you and me unhappy when all sorts of crimes are increased alarmingly. Beggars want to enjoy their life by asking money or food the easy way (making yours and mine uncomfortable) since you´ve worked hard to get your bread, being limited or deprived from the daily enjoyment you think you also deserve, and these guys have been drinking alcohol or taking drugs until the moment you passed by to be begged and annoyed.

Am I any better than them? No! I am a sinner, and a remorseful transgressor who wishes I heard God´s words directly to learn.

When I was in high school, I slowly became responsible step by step (I wasn´t accountable and I´m not really liable enough). I often decided to sit in the first row of seats (or next to my teachers) to avoid being asked during the examination tests; since those who had the habit of being lazy loved to cheat on during those exams (Eventually I was one of them during primary school).

I thought I was smart at lying! I believed I really tricked those teachers I had. The one year before the last I fooled myself to blame. My teacher of biology asked me to behave. I had finished my exam and I received permission to leave the examination room, since she knew there were pupils asking me to finish it too and, the 2^nd time she warned me to behave, outside the classroom I tried to help those friends I knew would not approve: She punished me by reducing my grades. I was good at it! Yet, in another signature (I did not like) I needed the cheating help to finish those technical drawings… I thought I was helped the moment a friend did my drawings during the last theory test.

This is why I must be penitent. The remorse of knowing where I come from has to be present to know WHO I am, no matter what. If I am poor it is I chose wrongly. If I lack money today to buy my food or cheap underwear, it is I who failed in choosing a productive career and I can´t blame the unfair society or the rich people who “robbed” me from opportunities… The way drug addicts, thieves, beggars or busybodies think it is often an ill-biased argument: Idealized lies! I am whom I chose to be, in the place and conditions I am now.

In your school you could be ignored by weeks! But, if you are a good student —a smart one- you´ll be popular the day those papers have to be filled in by the knowledge you´ve kept in your mind. “Hello!” they will say, tagged along with the promise they will sit next to you to receive the needed assistance you also need from yourself. Do you remember their faces? Was it a girl you liked or a boy who bothered you somehow? Then just forgive them (Please!)

Many drug addicts, thieves, beggars are unhappy because they didn´t achieved what others have toiled for studying and working.  When you chose to be trained and taught quietly, their minds were drifting –daydreaming- and soon the time came when they grew up quickly, not knowing their time passed to use it and it was too late to finish high school or they had to work to feed the kids they´ve got carelessly: Like me or you!

There is a widespread thought “I´m like this because they deprived me and robbed me”. The fact is we´re NOT underprivileged, yet we dilapidated our school time, our parent’s efforts and the money we received. Perhaps our chances were reduced and we certainly lacked a piece of loaf we or our parents won painstakingly but, the one I am is not a social guilt the world has to pay.

We were created equals. I´m certain I´m not less than those who kill or steal, but thieves and beggars do have a degree of dignity, even a code of honor bigger than mine, yet undeserved unfriendly hatred has to be socially disdained: Hate the wrong things! And not those who are humans.

These days I read the words of a lawyer, I felt hurt (for her) as a Christian believer, since she thinks of herself as a Jew. Doesn´t she know those who were born in a given condition or in a social status will always be seen differently because they do not belong to a class or race who boasts as unique? In fact, you “socially” worth as much as you have owned —instead of the person you have tried to be or the one you constantly wanted to be! Can you tell me why most of the girls I shared wanted to be a “princess” during her childhood? However, when their youth waned, when they got fattened for pregnancy or years, when beauty is vanished, few of them acknowledged life will take back anything we thought we owned to brag and to show up (I´m seeing it in my own daughter who boastfully proclaims she is nice-looking and young). She wants to be rich too!

That woman I met few weeks back is not the same I used to admire. She is lovely and nice-looking, but the color of her teeth has changed as also mine…

When I lived in Colombia they knew who I was. When they live elsewhere, Colombians will be acknowledged as foreigners (until the day they really became one with them). Wasn´t it the same thing Jesus spoke about in John´s? (17:21; 17:11; 17:22) Our glory should be one! (That is why the Resurrection will raise the dead before the Tribulation comes along with those who will be transformed in their lifetime, when He comes back the 2^nd time).

I´m not good at writing, neither in Spanish nor in English and, the fact I rarely spoke English well (or flawless) in a paragraph does not make me a native; although I am a foreign within my own folks and words... And that rejection is not worse than the one I have felt from those I have loved!

A pest is no loved! Thieves and drug dealers are loved when they shared money like Pablo Escobar did, in his hometown to be cherished (and to be shielded and protected): Will you buy people´s genuine affection? Beggars are loved by few and some drug addicts became like that to hide from themselves (in faked pleasures) and from those who hurt them; yet these beings are a burden society has to deal with scrupulously with meticulosity.

 That day a blind man increasingly cried out “Jesus, Son of David, take pity on me.” (Mar 10:47) He was perceived like a noisy pest. Once he was healed by Jesus he followed Him marveled and thankfully (Mar 10:52) Yet it is worth noticing that many of us –who have been healed from our religious blindness- aren´t following Jesus’ teachings to love. Do I have to hate men or their wrong deeds which cause troubles around?

Jesus was a Jew and –surprisingly- many Jews think they are better than Him, who knew how to pronounce the exact name of YHWH —as the Son of God.

That way to be proud isn´t wrong?

Yahshua (Jesus) several times said “I am He” (Jn 18:6, 8) and, in part, He was hated —and killed- for saying so before the Jews (Jn 8:24, 28; 13:19) who knew the Holy name of God... He is the rejected Messiah! As John also said: “He came to His own, and His own people did not receive him.” (Jn 1:11)

Yahshua (Jesus) performed miracles of healings on many people that later on betrayed Him suddenly (Jn 5:15). Do you think I will be loved if I disdained and accused –a little more- those who sinned unrepentantly without the slightest remorse or conscience?

I have to be careful if I bragged of who I am. They also were created with self-esteem! Their fault is disregarding the rights of others like them, like you and me.

"See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you."

(Jn 5:14)

I use this new language because I don´t like neither the syncretistic Latin-American culture nor the tongue my folks have —neither the way those are used! But this made me NOT a foreign Englishman for isolating myself from them.

I cannot hate Catholics, but the lies of Catholicism and their systemic idolatry.

I cannot hate Jews or Muslims and the only way I showed animosity against any of them it is they showed it –first- against me: These just tried to venerate the God they think He is!... And no one is guilty for having being lied (Mark 13:6; Luke 21:8; John 8:28).

The apartheid comes from those who think they have more rights than those who are less, as a handicapped unprivileged minority. Africa belongs to Africans! Europe belongs to Europeans! Yet Jews were badly discriminated as also Muslims are disdained and hated today in many places: We all deserve our own rights and land! (Here I can admit I haven´t received Jewish or North American help to defend myself from the chavistas and from their anthropologic authoritarianism). That´s idolatry! How come wouldn´t you face your own creole apartheid? You also are divided in black, dark-skinned people and white and pales!

When you haven´t sorted out your local issues you don´t care what may be happening in the rest of the world. But that is why many Muslims are trying to enter into Europe! If I haven´t helped my neighbors on how to fix their things or how to produce their own food, they will come to seize what is legally mine.

What´s the reason many Arabs go to work into the abhorred Israel?

What is the reason why many Mexicans humiliated themselves to go to work into the racist USA?

They speak evil things against those who have material things that could be easily coveted —and legally gained with hard work! (The opposite way a thief tries to grab what I made mine with the toil of my diligent hands).

They say “Don´t give a child a fish! Instead, teach him how to fish.”

We all need that!

Venezuela is facing the worst social resentment I´ve ever heard. Communists are using it to keep the seats they think they owned and the elections of Mayors and Governors is 7 months delayed: They will not sort out the shortage of food or medicines! But if we have holy men ruling the economic exploitation could be less.

Communists are the ones producing more drug addicts, thieves, beggars I never met.

If Colombians were known for those drug cartels Pablo Escobar once owned like Mexicans, Venezuelans´ are unknown now?

When you see people begging to buy drugs, whenever you see foreigners walking by the empty streets you missed to see the way you´ve liked, just remember you helped not your ones and with the wink of an eye, you would also see evil weeds are around the tree you never planted, but wanted to eat…

Have you really noticed that evil things are sought to be legitimated everywhere?

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isa 5:20)