I'm Better than you

I think that the most dangerous and destructive words we can say to another person are, "I'm better than you are." These words whether spoken or implied cause division, racism, prejudice and war. I can either succumb to the words and be defeated or I can begin to fight to prove that I'm better than the speaker.

Whether we succumb or fight back we awaken in our hearts a deep insecurity. We are terribly frightened that the world will know of our fearful failure.

This situation arises because we are living in a world where being number one is the goal of all relationships: sports, business, education and even marriage. Men and women, rich and poor, educated and not educated, country between country and especially religion between religion. Striving to be number one is deeply ingrained in our way of being.

The only way to get out of this battle with peace is to surrender to God's love for us. Once we surrender and know that God loves us, we have the strength and courage to let go of the contention and divisiveness. We can relax in God's love and know that that is all that we need for peace. We don't have to prove ourselves to anybody. With God on our side, we can do all.

The problem is that we find a surrender to God's love very difficult. We know of our sinfulness and failures. Sometimes God's love is so difficult to accept. But if we can let go and believe in God's love for us, we have the confidence to let go of the threat of "I'm better than you are." and not react negatively.

Rather than react negatively to the "I'm better than you" threat and we can relax. We can even be foolish enough to support the purported greatness of the other. With God's love for us as a foundation, we can build up others who threaten us.

I believe that God is reaching out to each of us at this moment with His love. All we have to do is say "Yes" to it and then let the contention of the "I'm better than you." world slip away.