No Room For “I”

I wear a bracelet I’ve had since I was a teenager. On it is a line from a poem by Alexander Pope: “Teach me to feel another’s woe, To hide the fault I see.” The “I” on the bracelet has disappeared, and isn’t that as it should be? If we are to feel another’s woe and if we are to ignore the faults of others, “I” cannot be included in the process. “I” cares about self more than others. “I” looks for the worst instead of the best. There is no room for “I” in the kingdom of God. May our lives be like my bracelet.

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