I stepped on an ant. I had no particular reason for doing it. My son witnessed it and said, “Daddy you killed an ant. That was one of God’s creatures.”
I replied, “I know, but the ant was bad.”
He said, “Daddy you told me that all of the animals on this earth are all God’s creatures and they are all important.”
I said, “Yes I said that, but the ant was bothering me and it had to be destroyed.”
He said, “Daddy you said that God created the whole world and everything in it and God said it was all good.”
I said, “I know, but that particular ant was a threat to me, my family and the entire human race. That threat had to be eliminated at all costs. It was a preemptive strike. I was only defending myself from the expectation of the possibility of an attack. Anyway, don’t you have homework to do?”
Maybe I exaggerated the conversation a little. But my son really did take me to task for killing one of God’s creatures. Of course this hasn’t stopped me from killing several more ants since then, but it has caused me to think on my attitude towards the people around me.
I am not always a pleasant person to spend time with. I can be sharp, sarcastic, and surly when the mood suits me. Just driving in this area brings out the worst in me. People around here drive very aggressively. Getting cutoff by someone is a daily occurrence. I can’t help getting angry at people. I tend to dehumanize them. A human being who is mistake prone like me becomes the jerk in the white car that just cut in front of me. I have to remind myself that the so-called jerk is one of God’s children. A real human being with family, friends, loved ones. That person in the white car could be my friend under different circumstances. While driving I often have to control my temper by remembering that the person in the other car is one of God’s creatures.
I often post on Internet Forums and it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that messages are posted by real people. We don’t see the person who posted, we don’t speak, we don’t know what most members look like, and it is highly unlikely we will ever meet face to face. Therefore it seems that there are times when some of us don’t feel the need to treat others with dignity and grace. It’s like the guy in the white car - I can get mad because he’s not real. Or like the ant - they don’t really matter do they? But in The Urantia Book we read these words about Jesus, “He went about doing good” (1875.4). He did this because he viewed everyone as family, as friends, as important people. Everyone mattered to Jesus. No one was a nameless faceless jerk. Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that everyone is important to God.
More ants near the house - must eliminate them. Can’t let my son see me. Does this make me a bad person? Probably not but the way I treat people has an impact, doesn’t it? Even when I don’t meet people face to face, I need to love God’s creatures.
God Bless You,
William Whitehead
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