Life: Human Thing To Do.
What Does Help Mean To You.
You understand, to help is not natural.
To choose self over others even at the edge of overabundance, gluttony — this is normal. To choose present self over future self — this is normal. To choose present self over another being — this is normal. To choose another over yourself, this is not normal.
Giving help is a conscious decision and remains an uncommon one. There’s the misconception that those that have abundance give, well those that give, give. Abundance or not. It just so happens that givers tend to end up having abundance. One could say they dont give because they have abundance but maybe they have abundance because they give. Point being, givers give, excess or not.
Years ago I started reading the Bible from Genesis, as opposed to the jump here, then jump there approach of reading the Bible in church or in personal study. I wanted to know how it all ties together, does it all tie together? Anyway, I only recently made it to Matthew and now Mark. Smack in the middle of Jesus’ ministry. Don’t worry I won’t preach to you or tell you to give your life to Christ. I’m sharing this personal information to make a point and then we move on.
Relax, this is not a religious conversion. Anyway, people followed Jesus everywhere. He would run to the boat where they couldn’t follow him, to speak to the crowd on land and after speaking he’d get whisked off to another town. While these people run following him as far as the shore would take them. I would wonder why are all these people following him and I finally understood.
People followed Jesus not because they liked Him. No. People followed Him because of what they could get from Him. The other reason was to find a way to kill him. Only the disciples, hopefully, and a few other people around him actually liked him. The rest, the crowd was there for him to heal their sick.
What am I getting at? I’m almost there. Bear with me.
Numerous people that he helped, roofs removed for the sick to be dropped from the ceiling closer to him, people grabbing the edge of his cloth, crowds here, crowds there, crowd everywhere, some begging him to leave their town. News of him everywhere. All of the pople he helped, where were they when he needed their help? Where were they to speak of His good works when his persecutors were piling on false accusers? Whrere were they? No where to be found.
Here’s my point, finally. If you want to help people, that is great, but first understand the first rule to helping people. The people you help will not help you back. Exception excluded. Are you familiar with the man that owed the king an amount worth 20years of wages, he couldnt pay. He begged the king, the king forgave him. The man goes outside sees someone else who owed him like 2months of wages and the man who was just forgiven for his debt could not forgive the other person, so he arrested the person and threw him in prison until he coughs up the 2months worth of wages. This is the same person that was forgiven 20years worth of wages but he couldnt forgive another 2months worth of wages. This is human being for you.
That might sound too Biblical for you and you might begin to think, humans are not like that, that is so far fetched. Alright, I get you. Try this:
When in traffic, we’ll call you person A, we’ll assign a person B another driver, and a person C the third driver. Alright, try this.
When in traffic and person B allows person C to merge in front of them, go try to merge in front of person C. Count how many times this happens positively, which is the person (person C) who just received grace from person B allowing another person (you, person A) to merge in front of them.
I have experimented with this logic countless times and I drive a lot. I cover way more miles than the average driver, more like 40,000 miles and over in a year as opposed to the 10,000 miles or below a lot of people drive.
I have found that person B tend to have very short term memory, even if someone else allowed them to merge, they are less likely to allow someone else to merge in front of them.
Let me bring it home. What I’m saying is a person that’s been helped is less likely to help another. The people you help, are less likely to help you back.
In fact, those who help others are almost always without help when they need help especially from someone they know. They are more likely, to receive help from strangers than they are from people who know them. Shocking how life turns out that way.
Help, yes. But, expect nothing in return. And, this truly is the only way to help. Robert Greene would say paraphrasing, people would rather repay vengeance (revenge) then repay a favor. To repay a favor being a burden.
Did I just discourage you from helping? hopefully not. But you should understand that what you do unto others, especially something good will come back to you 100 fold, but not from the person you did it to. In fact, sometimes you will help another and they won’t be bothered to even say thank you. Sometimes you will help another and they will begin to command, address, complain, instruct you on how they want to be helped.
Those more willing to help get taken advantage of and gets taken for granted.
There is none more unappreciative than a human being.
So, don’t do it for the feels, don’t do it for the person, don’t help another for what they will say or not say, don’t help another for what they will in turn do for you or not do.
You will not meet any living being more ungrateful than a human being.
Simply help another because they need it and you can. simply help another because you believe it is right thing for you to do for them. Help another because that’s essentially why we are here, to make living easier for ourselves and others. Drop the expectations, those you help would probably still crucify you, help them anyway.
I remember reading a controversial book about a once prominent person who after surviving like 15 assassination attempts, the very people he gave his all to protect were the ones who killed him.
Humans can be irritating, love them anyway.
Hold no hate in your heart, hold no grudge in your heart, give freely, give willingly, give sensibly, help another whilst protecting yourself, give what you can not what they asked. Help how you can not how much they’ve asked. Do not give what you cannot live without. Do not take on what you cannot deliver. Do not give a guarantee for another if you’re not ready to take on that debt. You don’t have to avoid humans but be on alert around humans.
You will, it is inevitable, you will meet shady characters, be alright being the light. Be an example, always, a good example. They don’t have to like you or be like you but they cannot say they haven’t met someone who did right like you. Be alright when people say they haven’t met anyone like you, don’t be surprised, don’t be alarmed, smile and move on.
Help because it is the human thing to do. Help but do not be taken for granted.
It is your choice to be good, it is a choice to be good, it is a conscious decision to choose another’s well being over yours.
Be Good. Be Generous. Be Kind. Be Gracious. Be Welcoming. Be Worthy.
Be Example, a good example. Be Peaceful. Be Knowledgable. Be Alright.
Be Forgiving. Be Forgetful.
Above all, do not be foolish.
With Love,
Famous Steve.