I thought this was really good — pertaining to our individual worldviews (including those who view their own ideas as just and dictatoral -aka wars and opressions) and wanted to save it to read again and again.

Quote “Yesterday we introduced the thought that each of us as humans has our own little kingdom. To further that discussion, today, I want to talk about how every one of these kingdoms operates under a philosophy, which is known as a worldview. A worldview is a lens through which you view circumstances and situations; it’s sort of a mishmash of your religion, culture, background, family life, and education. Your worldview provides a framework in which you see and process tragedy, and victory and you perceive meaning and purpose in life. A worldview attempts to answer these four questions: Who am I? Where am I? What’s the problem? What’s the solution?

In Jesus’ day, there were two primary groups that attempted to answer those questions: the Jews and the Romans. The Romans taught that you were 100% what you did and what you achieved. On the other hand, the Pharisees taught that you were dirty and that the only way to achieve holiness was to separate from unclean people. Neither of these worldviews offered any hope for those with disabilities, the poor, or sinners.

So Jesus came into a world with neither helpful nor hopeful worldviews. This is why it was such a big deal when He got up on a mountain and began to speak to a bunch of outcasts — sick people, outsiders, and Samaritans — telling them that they were blessed because they were meek, poor in spirit, and sad. You see, friend, the Kingdom of God is for everyone and it alone offers hope to ALL of humanity! Isn’t that the best news?”  animation made from google earth pro and GIMP…  how fun