Reinforcing our Character

Each day the three groups rotate responsibilities. We are in the “scorpion” group and today we worked construction. We drove an hour to one of the leprosy colonies where they are building a community center. Rising Star is involved with everyone in the colony however, and today we carried building materials throughout the village. The time we worked was short but intense.

Large corrugated roofing sheets made of some brittle composite material were carried and stacked for many of the small houses.

This up-close and personal perspective of Indian culture, especially in an outcast segment of society, was revealing, if not enlightening. At first glance I saw trash strewn across the ground, rickety old huts built in no apparent order, and incomplete structures everywhere.

But as I strolled along the streets and back alleys of the village, I realized that many of them still take pride in caring for their little corner of earth. I noticed that the coconut husks were piled together in a large mound, the entryways of the houses - although just dirt – were swept and tidy, the structures were being built or repaired on a constant (and drawn out) basis, and the living spaces respected. The trash piles can be overwhelming to the nose in some places, but most people don’t live in it. And who’s to say why the trash is there and not properly disposed? My bet is that there is little or no disposal service at the government level. The more I become involved in people’s lives, the more I see the beauty of their circumstance and the abundance of their dignity. I may be blessed with relative temporal wealth, yet of life and of foundational priorities I lack experience and understanding.

Is this not the purpose of organizations such as Rising Star and of service in general? It is. And I hope my perspective shift is more than the cliché transformation from the “I’m-gonna-change-the-world” to the “I’ve-been-humbled” attitude. I believe faith in Jesus Christ (in whatever form it may be) comes easier to people in less-materialistic or even poverty-stricken areas not because of the simple lack of anything else in which to place trust, but rather because of a humble understanding of life’s ultimate priorities. And if I more fully learn them, and, most importantly, remember them, then my faith will have far greater power and my potential for righteous influence will grow.

So what matters most? I have only a few ideas. Happiness is found in the family and in our relationships to our Heavenly Father and to others. Dignity is another name for gratitude for what God has given us. And a keen focus on these things equals a life fulfilled.