new church life: jan uary/february 2016
two views of other people
In his play No Exit the existentialist writer Sartre says: “hell is other people.”
He claimed that what he meant wasn’t as bad as that translation from French
makes it sound. In any case, there’s a certain dismal truth in it.
Hell is an overweening love of self that views other people with contempt
and as enemies. So yes, for those consumed by love of self, the presence of
other people is a perpetual torment.
On the other hand, heaven is also other people. Those who find happiness
in the happiness of others love having other people around because they see
the goodness and beauty in them, and delight in following the example set by
the Lord, who said He came not to be served, but to serve others. (Matthew
20:27)
When heaven speaks the message is clear and uplifting: “love one another
as I have loved you.” (John 13:34, 15:12)
(WEO)
projection
How we see things, especially other people, is colored by our own spiritual
state. Here is a striking example from Scripture:
After their father Israel died, Joseph’s brothers were worried that Joseph
would hate them and pay them back for the evil they had done to him years
before when they sold him into slavery. (Genesis 50:15) They should have
known better, for when they first came to Egypt seeking food and were brought
into his presence, he forgave them, and was so moved by compassion for them
that he wept. (Genesis 45:2-5)
But once their father was gone, they worried that Joseph secretly hated
them and would avenge himself upon them. They begged forgiveness, and
again Joseph wept upon hearing their words, and “comforted them and spoke
kindly to them.” He told them: “Y