Thursday, December 28, 2006

The opposite of selfishness

Jean Vanier

When I was in the convent I was very much influenced by the writings of Jean Vanier, particularly his book, Community and Growth. Vanier is the founder of the L'Arche communities - places where people with developmental disabilities and those who assist them live and create community together. Here's something Vanier said:

When we begin to believe that there is greater joy in working with and for others, rather than just for ourselves, then our society will truly become a place of celebration.


We need antidotes to the culture of selfishness that has taken over our society. For the life of me, I don't see how people who exalt Christianity also exalt self-centeredness. That is completely contrary to everything Jesus actually taught. But members of the religious right are not really interested in the teachings of Jesus. They are interested in exploiting religion in order to control the masses.

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