got grace?

I often receive chain emails from various friends and family members. These emails run the gamut ranging from patriotic to motivational to religious themes. Support our country, stay strong, or praise God are the messages generally conveyed. Each sender implies that if I follow the instructions contained in their message and forward it to eight or 10 people that the world will transform itself into a better place for all of us. Which sugar substitute are those folks putting in their cup of coffee? Those emails are like zit creams. Your pimples don't go away from using it. But because think you are doing something to treat the problem, you feel better about it. A pimple runs its natural course, goes away, and then everything is fine. When it returns, you apply more zit cream. It is a cover up. If you really want to eliminate pimples, you need to drink more water, eat healthier, exercise, get sufficient rest, wash properly and make sure your skin is sufficiently hydrated. The same axiom holds true addressing the social-political issues that makes this world a most difficult place for the majority of us to survive. Human nature, as it is, prompts the majority of us to separate ourselves from the issues. It is great to be patriotic and announce your loyalty to the nation. But what is resolved if you are ignorant or indifferent to the real-life issues that surround us? Is it right that half of this nation cannot afford health insurance? Is the U.S. involvement in the war in Iraq anything more than an economic issue stemming from our need for petroleum products? Would seeking alternative energy or energy suppliers be a better way to solve the problem? Can our intervention really prompt Arabs and Jews to get along with each other after they have been fighting each other for over 1,000 years? Do you really care about any of this if it does not directly impact your household? How far outside of yourself do you really think? If there is food on your table, does it matter to you that others are dying daily from starvation? What has more impact on you, federal government, local government, or your employer's opinion of you? The world is afflicted with terminal cancer and sugar pills are being prescribed to address its symptoms. We seek religion for solace. But if your God is more important than my God, where is the spirituality? Got grace? If you believe that God loves all of his children equally, what does God think of you if you can't see it that way? Does God love homosexuals and ethics less than white heterosexuals? If religion had a corporate structure, would Jesus, Allah and Buddha be equal members of the board? How come religious leaders live lavishly? Is the pope more loved by God than me? How can celibate Catholic staffers, priests and nuns, offer me counseling on getting along better with my wife? I recently received an email from a Christian fundamentalist who proffered that Hurricane Katrina was God's personally delivered message to the masses. I have a hard time swallowing that a merciful god, who loves all creatures equally, would behave in such a manner. Human beings, yes, they might do something like this, but not God. If God intended to send a message to the masses about how we are destroying his creation, his targets would not be the poor people. God would be aiming his wrath at rich evangelists, corrupt politicians and businessmen. Major banking institutions and credit card companies would turn to salt and crumble. Allowing those misanthropic, self-serving people and institutions to endure unscathed is the most poignant message that God's all-encompassing mercifulness and tolerance to all his creations is infinite. I guess all that I am saying is that if all you have to offer me for hope that this world will get better is an insipid chain email, I appreciate your sentiments. But I thank God even more for giving me a delete button. Amen.