When Religion Becomes a Worthiness Contest

Description

I worry about what happens when religion becomes a private worthiness project, leaving us to sort people into who belongs and who doesn’t. That carries a cost. Judgment hardens, our circles shrink, and we miss the remarkable souls God places around us. Friends, there is a more generous way to live. Within our Swedenborgian tradition, the twelve gates of the holy city offer a beautiful picture of people approaching from different cultures, communities, and religious traditions, coming together in love. I call this the “unified field,” a place where we recognize our shared belonging and find connections that surprise us. Loving God is loving other people. That is our North Star. We still need healthy boundaries when a relationship brings danger, and those boundaries can coexist with respect for another person’s basic worth. Today, let’s step toward this shared life with humility and curiosity. There are angels on Earth everywhere. Love helps us see them.