I appreciated that our blog prompt was phrased with the statement “When you violate them…”, to acknowledge that we will and we do.  In reflection, I have not come to a settled conclusion about what regularly trips me up with regard to violating these values. I think just the awareness of this question will be something to be observing now going forward in order to come to some conclusions.  But, generally speaking, I think the fast and pressured pace of daily living can cause me to be less conscientious about holding to these when I am in hurry mode or task accomplishment mode.

What I am taking note of through this reflection is that of these 6, I seem to be less consistent with the value of humility than with these others.  For me, practicing humility encompasses other values including: kindness, thoughtfulness, empathy, sincerity and openness.  Maintaining humility at all times, in all situations, with all people feels more challenging to me than maintaining my other core values.  I suspect that humility is the most challenging for me because it incorporates interaction with and response to others, whereas the other core values of integrity, generosity, justice and learning, are more internally oriented. I feel certain there is more insight and understanding to come from this reflection on my core values and developing consistency in the practice of them.  A great reminder that I am yet still a work in progress!

Fast-forward. We are now adults. I had returned to school to pursue my masters degree. My youngest brother had become the quintessential drug addict and had embraced the lifestyle—he was sleeping on the streets, was stealing food, was in and out of the hospital, was on the grid then he was off the grid. And our relationship was at an all time low. I was struggling to figure out how to interact with my baby brother. There was a nagging sense in me that he still deserved some type of honor, but I couldn’t locate a reason to show him another ounce of kindness, care or concern. 

As it came time to choose a thesis, I picked one with my little brother in mind. I wanted to imagine Jesus interacting with him on the corner of a busy street. My goal was to try to locate my brother’s basic human dignity. This paper rocked my world as I began to explore the concept of human dignity, which originates from God—not out of our own doing— and is of God because we are made in God’s own image and likeness. 

When I started my thesis, I was longing for a reason to honor my brother, despite his life choices. And when I submitted my thesis, I had come to believe that every person—including my brother—has a portion of God’s image or likeness in his or her being, and on that ground alone deserves to be honored even when respect has not been earned. 

This was the first big mile marker in my pursuit and experience of reconciliation. Through this process, I learned that my initial read on the world is not necessarily God’s perspective. This experience intrigued my imagination in regards to the reconciliation God can do in and through creation. 

Shortly after I submitted my thesis, my brother overdosed and died. There is not an easy sentence to summarize the grief of loosing a brother, but throughout my grieving process, I have been on the lookout for God’s image in the memories of my brother. And through this process, have been trained to look for the image of God in all humanity. What an incredible marker of value!