Contemplation Corner: “The whole trouble lies in that people think that there are conditions excluding the necessity of love . . .

“The whole trouble lies in that people think that there are conditions excluding the necessity of love in their intercourse with man, but such conditions do not exist. Things may be treated without love; one may chop wood, make bricks, forge iron without love, but one can no more deal with people without love than one can handle bees without care.” ― Leo Tolstoy, Resurrection

Pastor Donnie Brooks

   A novelist is often remembered by his or her most famous novels. In the case of Tolstoy, though one may judge his introspection and idealism as quite a bit unhealthy for him and his family, he actually wanted to denounce his most famous writings and all of his wealth and property. He held things in great guilt and as dross. While I would disagree with Tolstoy, that his works, War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are certainly not to be held in contempt as trivial and as dross, I do understand that he saw their morals and ideals somewhat lacking. This, of course, especially related to his non-fiction works, many of his short stories, and this last novel of his: Resurrection.

   This quote for today, perhaps, encapsulates it. Tolstoy thought great, wonderful and lofty things in his major and most famous works. They make us think. They are beautiful in their qualities. True works of art and literature. But they did not fully convey the love of and duty to God and one another that he sought in later short stories and novellas and in Resurrection. This quote, again, covers it. That we could imagine that loftiness or even the majesty of beauty could really matter when there is not love. 

   Yes, the most important thing in life is love. It is the foundation of everything. It’s lack creates foundations of sand. Its presence is a solid rock. In our relations with people (or perhaps even animals, especially of the domestic kind), it is essential. It is true relationship. We see too often that a sort of technique or an analysis of people is how we treat people. People are means to an end or, even more likely, statistics for a purpose to control more people in statistical ways. We treat people as things. Things to be bought or sold. Things to manipulate. Things to coerce. Things to persuade. Things to manage. Things to compete with and against. Things to outsmart and outmatch. But rarely people, ones that we can love. Not things, but persons. Not even just persons but those to whom we have relationships with. That know the name of and who know our names as well.

   Can we imagine that there is so much strife, unrest, turmoil, greed and selfishness in a world that doesn’t handle itself as one “handles bees”: that is, without care. We are stung and stinging one another, and wonder why we are all in pain? May we engage in our relationships with one another this holiday season not as we would “things” but even as ourselves and as children of God like ourselves.

Pastor Donnie Brooks
Marcellus United Methodist Church

###