Boy don't this world ever need more men and women of peace, and more nations with peaceful people, policies and attitudes. American humorist Will Rogers once said minds are changed through observation and not through argument. In the brief life of Jesus the ultimate teacher, we are left with teachings from a man that gave all of himself, for us to observe. Jesus' teachings were about how to live, human treatment, of particularly the needy and oppressed. His teachings are universal. One does not have to be a religious person per se at all, just be open-minded, to appreciate the man and his messages.
There is a great deal of common sense in his messages, much of it is good psychology. For example, treating others as you wish to be treated. A bit of empathy involved here, and makes logical sense. Another always timely and practical thought to ponder is the idea that all races, languages, and creeds are equal. He also stressed the idea of forgiveness, and another biggie is the concept of being nonjudgmental. It's an idea, and we can only strive to be so.
On a practical level, the last one probably meant, for example - if you did point out some failing of someone, or some error or maliciousness, then it is up to the rest of us to understand why, lift the person up, not knock him or her down further.
Jesus' messages were simple, and ideally would probably lead to a much more perfect world. Interpretations of his teachings have unfortunately caused divisions in peoples in our and the rest of the world. Perhaps because humanity could not fully live up to his ideals, arguments were made about what Jesus might have meant or done, and divisions have occurred. Perhaps because humanity to a large degree, emphasize self interest first, and different measures of success, that other rationalizations of what is acceptable are put forward. After all, Jesus did not get into every detail of life, especially 2000 years later, but was probably thinking he did not have to, as his original teachings were meant to cover all situations with love, giving, forgiveness, and respect for human dignity, so no one was left out.
He would not care if about how you label yourself, but rather how you treat each other, and how you choose to live by your daily actions. Other religions, have peaceful and similar teachings as well. Certainly many individuals have promoted peace and understanding. The end goal is to live in peace, and many do. Unfortunately humanity as a whole have used their freedom to choose, and chose to live with ages old success indicators like greed, wealth, power, materialism, and a concept of inequality. That's our present world. In a person's view of their own self actualization, being the best they can be, how well,and how much they care for others, can be computed into the perception of their character and success.
In a world where there never was a time of no war, a world of continuing greed, with a powerful few, and aggressive nations, attitudes and policies, all sides of all issues could use more people of peace, more attitudes of empathy, forgiveness, equal treatment, and respect. It sounds like an outdated thing to say, but what other solutions are there? It is good that the messages of peaceful people in the history of the world get echoed regularly, so that humanity can think of what could be, and strive to evolve to reach a more perfect and harmonious world.
On a day to celebrate a special, yet mysterious man of hope and peace, here's a beautiful song sung by Yvonne Elliman who played Mary Magdelene in Jesus Christ Superstar.
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