Doing Good & God

I have just finished reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. A fantastic read.

Apart from messing up the few bits of the English language that I have tried to master, the book was one of the best books I have read in recent times. As a black person you feel sorry for the black women who worked as maids in Mississippi but you also get the sense that they were strong and had the resilience required to survive. It is that resilience that makes me feel proud that I’m black and female.

I’m glad that I’m not a maid and that slavery, segregation etc… were way before my time but there are still similarities in the present day particularly in the corporate world. Just like Lou Anne / Louvenia (good) and Hilly / Minny (bad) in The Help – you have similar relationships still existing today. The good ones are in abundance and can be seen between neighbours who invite you to their homes for coffee, offer you a ride in their cars or strangers who make space for you on the train. The bad ones are still thriving too. It is more subtle but it exists. It is there when you are passed over for promotions because you are too “aggressive” or you are not social enough; when people give up their space on the toilet queue because you just came out of the toilet; when people refuse to collect their change from you at the checkout till.

The divide is no longer black vs white. It has new dimensions – Oxbridge educated vs the other graduates; black vs brown; Asians vs Caucasians; employed vs NEETs (Not in Employment, Education or Training); poor vs rich. It is part of life and I don’t think it is ever going to go away completely. These artificial divides provide us with some incentive to improve ourselves. Sociologists probably know the advantages of having these divides. I’m not one, so I’m going to drop this topic but before I do, Kathryn Stockett suggests that the book was written for women (I think it applies to men as well) to realise that “We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I’d thought.”

Another thought that I had from reading The Help was how closely God and doing good are linked. I noticed that the more good or morally upright that Skeeter became, the more awareness of God she had. I think that people do good because God in His invincible manner makes us do good. Sometimes we are not aware that it is God working in us but we feel compelled to do good – we help others, show love to the down trodden. Society often refers to doing good as having a moral coding. What is a moral code and who did the coding?

Planning my funeral

I was listening to “God Is Here” by Martha Munizzi and it is one of those songs that make me want to plan my funeral. Not that I’m thinking of dying anytime soon but there are just some songs that make me feel like planning my funeral. Another is “In Christ Alone” by Stuart Townsend.

The thought of dying used to scare me a lot until I read “The Shack” by Paul Young (and that is not an invitation for Satan & friends to bargain with God for my death) but now I sort of think that if God allows it then it is probably for the good of the everyone/everything else.

What are the pros or cons to me dying?
Pros
1. Death in service benefits for my listed beneficiaries
2. Someone gets my job / better job security for my colleagues
3. No more worries (for me)

Cons
1. Loved ones will miss me (I can count on my oldest niece to miss me)
2. Purpose in life not completed – not sure I have even started
3. No descendants (for me)

I think I will be ready to go when I have converted the cons to pros. For example:

• my loved ones may miss me but it would be a pro if they had the understanding & confidence that I had gone to meet my God and was in a better place. And that they must walk with God in order to be re-united with me.
• my purpose / mission in life has been identified and actions taken to fulfil it or for others to carry on with it
• descendants!!! I guess if it is part of my purpose / mission… No way, I can’t finish that – I want to get married someday. Somewhere in the bible it says to every living thing, God will give a mate. I still want mine.