Sometimes I wonder what runs through a person’s mind. The person who steals copper wiring, does he know how many people suffer because of his actions; the dark streets, and the taxpayer expense to replace the wiring.

The teenagers who walk through the crosswalks at a snail’s pace, do they know that there are cars waiting.

The person who flips you off on the road, do they know what kind of person you are?

The person who takes the recreational drugs, do they know that people are murdered daily to satisfy their habits?

The person who refuses to work because of government aid, does he know where the money comes from. Does he or she care?

Do I need to go on? Yes this is plain selfishness. What happens when one becomes selfish?  He or she creates a path to suffering. I remember a story when I was in Japan, where a religious leader told a parable of being unselfish. He asked if we knew the difference between heaven and hell. For some reason God gave giant chopsticks to both the souls in hell and heaven. Of course if he was telling the story in America, it will be giant forks. Any way, the people in hell were becoming emaciated because they were trying to feed themselves with the giant chopsticks. The souls in heaven were happy and plump because they were feeding each other. This is just a silly story, but it gets to the point. Verse 3-47 summarizes it all:

Ponder from your innermost heart to understand.

Through saving others, you are saved. 3-47