“Why are there bad people?” I asked a smart 3rd –grader in one of my English classes. “It is because they do bad things.” was his immediate answer.
“Why do they have to do badly?” I probed.
“Maybe it is because they really want to have or do something. But for them to acquire or experience it, they have to pass through the process of being bad”. He responded with much confidence that you’ll think this 9-year-old boy already had a glimpse of what life is at present.
I was so upset when I asked him that question. I needed to vent out my frustrations. I desperately wanted to say uncouth remarks but I couldn’t, and I wouldn’t have done it if given a chance. What an unhealthy way to live the day, hearing with bleeding ears made-up stories against me. That was the least I wanted to hear but in my every move, it seems that speckled eyes follow me.
Why did I have to ask this innocent child? It was a fraught attempt to see the world in a different view. A child lives in the world of innocence, I know for sure. So I talked to him hoping to heed that childlike innocence so pure and real. I looked at him intently and with love I smiled. That was enough for me. Like a ball of fire thrown from the sky, his answer came in full speed. In that instant, I welcomed the child in me too. I then felt a heap of soot removed from my heart, similar to a child so forgiving and kind. Peace overflowed my being and was cleansed from the negativity that I have placed myself into.
And it dawned on me. Yes, it is true. We are surrounded by people who seemed to lose their values, whether in the form of violence, immorality, disgrace, stampeding on individual rights and the like. But in response to this, should we hurl balls of condemnation towards them? Do we have the least right to mock them or even feel good because we feel better off than them? Nonetheless, are we totally clean? The answer is NO and we have only to understand and repay them with prayers instead of vengeance. If the latter is chosen, strife will take its toll and we never are going to let that happen.
I reflected a little. That pupil was right. These lost brothers and sisters of ours are to be prayed for, guided, and not to be ridiculed and spitted out. They have specific goals just like anybody else. What makes it turn the other way around is when the process of achieving these isn’t really the way of the righteous and just.
I felt my heart and it laid serene. It was because God gave me the wisdom to comprehend certain things that somehow agitated my sanity. These are pitfalls; but, if taken positively, they become value molders. Understanding is the key and love is the ultimate goal to a blissful life.
The good Lord sent that boy to remind me of the immense love that I should imbibe. After all, who am I to refuse if I myself am a product of our BIG GOD’S BIG LOVE?
Reflection:
Are we still attuned to the innocent, all-forgiving and loving child within us?
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