DATE: Saturday, March 22, 1997              TAG: 9703220066

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E3   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: Issues of Faith 

SOURCE: Betsy Wright

                                            LENGTH:   63 lines

CARING FOR OTHERS ONE WAY TO SHARE GOD'S LOVE

Last Week's Issue of Faith: The risk of caring for others

This Week's Reader Responses

From Jeff Long of Norfolk: ``I realize there are two barriers I have encountered in my life when reaching out to others with good deeds. First, reaching out to others requires effort. I have found my greatest opportunities for service are often not obvious, and have required effort to seek them out. After finding opportunities for service, it takes effort to overcome my lazy side, which resists putting forth the necessary effort.

``Second, reaching out to others always involves some degree of risk. There is always the risk that the attempted good deed will fail to have its desired effect, resulting in my perceived personal failure or even accidental harm to another.

``I hope I can always be aware of these barriers when reaching out to others with good deeds . . . When I am aware of these barriers I am better able to overcome them and more effectively reach out. (Also,) balancing my own needs with the needs of others is important. My talents, time, interests and safety are considerations in when, where and how to reach others . . .

``Reaching out thoughtfully and lovingly to others with good deeds is surely one of the most important ways we can share God's love!''

From Kathryn Pigg of Portsmouth: ``For good to come out of evil, the risk of love is necessary. This is the season that celebrates the risk of love in the cross and resurrection. The cross was the risk. Christians are called upon to take risks as Jesus did.

``. . . In order for people who want to change to do so, somebody has to take some risks. That is what the cross is about. And, by working through our fears and feelings and faith with our children, we teach them what Christianity is all about on the level of everyday life, which is where they see the difference between what we profess and how we live. In this way we open the way for the resurrection to become visible to them as well. (Many) believe in the cross as reality. It is believing that Easter always follows the risks we take for love's sake, that makes us believers in God's way.''

From Michael Nixon of Virginia Beach: ``What if Jesus were here today? Would he walk away from the emotionally disturbed? Would he shun people with cancer and AIDS? Would ``not in my neighborhood'' be his motto?

``How can we change our world if we treat all our brothers and sisters with fear and worry? ? Wake up! Through God all things are possible! Love (the opposite of fear) is the total acceptance without conditions of all God's creations, no matter what their spiritual, emotional and physical state . . . It's your fears, worries, negative beliefs and judgments that separate you from this love!''

From Rabbi Israel Zoberman of Congregation Beth Chaverim in Virginia Beach: ``The Rabbis countered the altruistic commandment in the Hebrew scriptures (Leviticus 19:18), `Love thy fellow man (and woman) as thyself,' with the perceptive statement that self-interest is a most natural human inclination.

``Civilized society is bound to live with the tension between these two principles, and a measure of compromise between them is essential for the common good.'' MEMO: Every other week, Betsy Mathews Wright publishes responses to her

opinion column. Send them to Issues of Faith, The Virginian-Pilot, 921

N. Battlefield Blvd., Chesapeake, Va. 23320; call 446-2273; FAX

436-2798; send computer message via bmw(AT)infi.net. Deadline: Tuesday

prior to publication. Include name, city and phone number.

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