I told the family this but we split up a fight that was about to break out in the middle of little Caesars on Christmas Eve. Two Black Chicks were mad at the store manager for how long the wait was for their pizzas. They tried to get the little white girl store manager to go outside to fight but we stopped her from going outside to fight. After that we called the store owner to tell him what really happened so that no one would get fired unnecessarily. The other people that wanted to fight were calling to complain and You can only imagine what their side of the story would have sounded like. I have learned out here that all problems that occur in a humans life is because of selfishness and pride.
Some one might ask though, "What about when someone else inflicts pain on you or takes something from you?" "You didn't selfishly do that!" First of all the actions of people doing harm to you can always be traced back to selfishness and pride. The things that people do to you do not have to affect you in a negative way though! It doesn't matter what happens to you in life but what matters is what you do about it. Don't fight fire with fire, selfishness with selfishness. What goes around comes around.
No one can rob justice whether it be you delivering it short term to an enemy or karma in the future. Learn the difference between justice and revenge because one is doing the right thing and the other is being caught up in selfishness and your own pride that will only result in a continuing cycle of bias opinions and unjust retaliations. Justice, trust in God, Karma and accepting reality such as your own faults will help you role with the punches in life. Realizing problems and weaknesses will only lead you to being able to strengthen them. Everything in life is only borrowed and the only thing that you can take with you is your spiritual mind of experience. Don't be selfish by thinking that anything belongs to you. It is a harsh topic and feels scary to talk/write about but it is undoubtedly true. Stay Close to God and Deal justly and you wont have anything to worry about.
Speaking of dealing justly with folks...
We had a meeting after church with the branch council (PEC) and we were there to offer our opinions. The meeting was going great and the topic of the entire meeting was focused on Christ and helping others. The discussion of a service project came up about helping out the Syrian refugees as a stake and combining with other wards to help out. Three people in the room raised their hands and said they had reservations about it until they knew the details of the project. I didn't think much of this, I was thinking that they were concerned about carpool and technical difficulties. They then said that they weren't sure if they wanted to support such a people that want to kill us. The spirit of the meeting was instantly gone after that. We disagreed and shared an example of working with Alligators (an animal that is dangerous)... I said that you keep your distance from dangers but that doesn't mean that you stop feeding them and caring for them. I'm not telling you to trust EVERYONE but I'm telling you to be smart about it. They are still human beings and not all of them are wanting war and killing.One of the people who shall remain nameless said, "I think that we are dealing with things that are a lot worse than animals Elder!" I kept my cool and the branch president quickly changed the subject. The spirit was gone from the meeting and turned into a complaint department after that. We kept quiet for the rest of the meeting and just listened. The president called us into his office after and asked us for our opinions on the meeting. We told him that Church meetings aren't a good place for Economic opinions. He explained how we were completely correct about the situation and he told us that the people that are skeptical to help with the project are scared to help and that is because they are scared to die. Our lives are here for but a moment and are only borrowed for such a short time so why not give our lives for others? Charity never faileth! He explained how One of the twelve apostles addressed the church saying that we should help them.
We fight for the freedoms of ALL of God's Children. having that said... you cant please everyone.
We had a good week though teaching and working with some wonderful people. We were able to give gifts and celebrate the holidays. I love life and I hope that I can one day offer more than what is asked of me towards this wonderful life. I know that times can get hard but don't stop running. I know that to some readers my paragraphs may seem bold but It is what I know to be correct. I will do my best not to be a hypocrite and try to empathize and relate to other people's circumstances .... that in itself is hard to do. ONE STEP AT A TIME... That is all that God asks of you. Please reply your opinion of these perspectives
I love you family and friends.
Love Elder Cooley
God is just and you cant rob justice, therefore you can not rob God. Stay close to God and all will be well.
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