Thought of the Day 05.12.08

When CS Lewis paints his picture of hell not as a scene of horrible brutality but of self-imposed isolation from other people, he’s saying that the opposite of love is indifference, not cruelty. And today I was reminded of the mundane symptoms of such indifference when I stepped in some bubble gum which got smeared on the floor mat of my car.

As I was fuming at the asymmetrical stupidity of people who spit gum anywhere but the trash, I realized that I needed to pray for this person. Whoever he is, he clearly is going to hell. Oh, not because of the gum per se, but because the presence of God’s Spirit inside him would make such unconcern for other people impossible. I know bubble gum is a very small evil in the grand scheme of things, and I’m grateful that God would use me to pray for this person’s salvation.

But we must never forget that the sin of not regarding how our behaviors affect others is at the root of every significant evil one can name. God help us all to do unto the anonymous stranger as we would have them do unto us.