Reminders Come from All Kinds of Places

Sometimes I can still be amazed at how, where and when God chooses to communicate. After my last written post about compassion, I was reading before going to bed. This is a fictional book by Alexander McCall Smith that takes place in Africa. God used this book to further emphasize what he had already been speaking to me. I’m sure that if I hadn’t begun to understand my barrier to compassion then this passage would have just been glossed over. I was just reading along and the main character, Mma Ramotswe [African title and last name], is talking about her disbelief at how her friend treats her servants.

Her friend who treated her maid badly was not a wicked person. She behaved well towards her family and she had always been kind to Mma Ramotswe, but when it came to her maid – and Mma Ramotswe had met this maid, who seemed an agreeable, hardworking woman from Molepolole – she seemed to have little concern for her feelings. It occurred to Mma Ramotswe that such behavior was no more than ignorance; an inability to understand the hopes and aspirations of others. That understanding, thought Mma Ramotswe, was the beginning of all morality. If you knew how a person was feeling, if you could imagine yourself in her position, then surely it would be impossible to inflict further pain. Inflicting pain in such circumstances would be like hurting oneself.

The main character goes on to talk about the Ten Commandments and how they are absolute. That we can’t pick and choose what is right for ourselves and have a “separate morality”. I must admit, I was surprised to find this in my detective novel. But I have also learned that when I am open to God, he can use virtually any source to speak to me. I’m so thankful he doesn’t give up on me but rather reminds and encourages me along the way.