We Are More Powerful Than We Know….

– March 17, 2008Posted in:

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

200pxschindlers_list_movie

Hi Blog-friends!

I had a great weekend…hung out with two kids, built a den and watched a movie inside the den… Been a long time since I’ve done that! I need to spend more time with kids..their imagination and sense of play is so refreshing! On Sunday my church rocked. Today the week is off to an inspiring and mellow start as I work on my Book and on writing songs for a new album : )

Last night I watched a movie – Schindler’s List. I saw it once before, when it came out in the cinema back in ’93. Much of it I had forgotten. It last over 3 hours and is a graphic story telling of the Holocaust. Once again I was amazed this all took place during my Grandparent’s generation…it is so recent and living survivors still exist.

The main character, Oskar Schindler, is a business man who’s heart is gradually broken for the plight of the Jews. He has great wealth and realizing that they will be sent to Auschwitz to die, he buys as many Jews as he can, under the guise of employing them in his factory. At the end is a powerful scene where he weeps at the realization that for the sale of his car he could have bought 20 more people, or for the gold brooch on his jacket, two more people…

I definitely don’t want to sound ‘preachy’ here! I’m just feeling inspired and challenged, and this is me speaking to myself as much as to anyone else : ) But….If you are able to sit and read this on a computer, and you own more than a few changes of clothes and have a means of transportation, you and I are among some of the richest people on the planet. Often we look at Hollywood and the movie stars and feel like that is what riches look like! In reality, riches look like OUR lives – when compared to the vast majority of people who live below the poverty line across the globe.

The movie was sobering and left me challenged to realize just how powerful I am – and how powerful you are. We are educated, able to communicate, able to use technology, able to dream and act on those dreams, able to make money and give it away…

Truly the power to change the world lies within our hands…

What will we do with it?

Comments and thoughts are very welcome….share below!

Love,
Vicky

Related Posts - these might also be of interest:

Unbelievable 3D Experience!

http://dan.thebyronsplace.com/ Dan

Yea.. I need to see this again. I can’t believe that it’s been that long since it came out (93′). But yea, we are a blessed people and should never take that for granted.
Carina

Schindler’s Liste is such a great movie. The greatest one I’ve ever seen!

<
Linz

I really dont think people will truely understand poverty until its all taken away.
http://www.jonathanpaulmusic.com Jonathan

Happy St. Patty’s day, blog-Vicky and fellow blog-friends! :o)

Good thoughts! Really facing the topic human suffering head-on can be difficult… Sometimes you don’t even want to think about it. Pastor Mark talked yesterday in graphic terms about the crucifixion of Christ. It’s good to remember what Christ suffered for us, but the experience of even just hearing about it left me so physically drained that I was concerned about driving home after the service! God kept me safe though. :o)

Like you alluded to, Vicky, so much of the human experience (at least here on earth) seems to be calibrated by comparison to the lives of others around us or even relative to our own life at another time….

We feel rich or poor by comparing ourselves to those around us rather than looking at our needs objectively. Many of the things that the average American has available to them today so far as conveniences, entertainment, etc. are better in many ways than kings had just a few hundred years ago.

Travel (or even reading some good nonfiction) can be a way to help reset your view of the world and your own relative level of affluence. Sadly, even once we’ve realized our own wealth, it’s too easy to slip back into being complacent.

Of course, we aren’t all called to spend every day of our lives in the slums of India or in Africa’s most war-torn cities (though some of us might be for at least part of our lifetime). However, we ought to take a good hard look ourselves and our motives if we find that we are doing *nothing* about the suffering of others. Alone, it’s tempting to feel like any change we could make would be insignificant. However, if each of us (empowered by Christ) does our own part, I believe we will do incredible things.

Also, every life we touch, (even if we only touch one or two) can result in a huge change for that person. I love the story about the two guys standing at the edge of the ocean after the tide just went out. There were a number of sea creatures left stranded on the beach to die in the sun. One of the men was picking them up, one by one, and throwing them back into the water. The second man exclaimed, “Why are you doing that? There are so many of them, you’ll hardly make any difference at all!” As he threw the next animal back into the water, the first man replied, “It makes a difference to this one!”
Martin

I’ve seen the film while underway to Auschwitz on a schooltrip. Man that had an impact on me! And then to actually see the places where these horrible things happened… if we are powerful then also in the wrong direction this is true.

I bumped into an inspiring speech given by Nelson Mandela which I think is wonderful:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?”
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Martin

My bad, it wasn’t Nelson Mandela who’s quote it was, it was from Marianne Williamson :)
http://www.jonathanpaulmusic.com Jonathan

Are we allowed to double-post now and then? :o)

I was thinking about this topic today, about changing the world. One thought that came to mind was how some Christians try to change the world by trying to get people who aren’t Christians to *act* like they are Christians. Some people in the Church seem shocked or offended when other people around them are just… people. If someone around you is vulgar or otherwise offensive, how easily should we take offense? Sometimes it might even feel like we’re shirking our responsibilities if we don’t react that way. To me, that seems a little silly. We shouldn’t expect anything else out of people who have not been changed by Christ’s love. For goodness sake, even those of us who are being changed still have a lot of rough edges!

How *should* we react to people who are rude or crude? Should we expect people to change around us for our convenience or comfort? If we are to be a “friend of sinners” (like Christ), where do we draw the line at what we let fly when we’re around? I think that we should exert an influence on our environment, but I also think that some Christians get a little confused on how this should work.
pkake2000

Thank you for offering a good article I read will come back again.
http://www.shoppingsaletoday.com

We Are More Powerful Than We Know….

Categories

Winner of “Best Blog” CNM Awards 2011

Top Posts

Vicky’s Wikio UK Blog Ranking

Tweets about Vicky