At the time of the plagues of Egypt when it came time for the plague of turning the waters of the Nile to blood (Exodus 7:19-20), this task was performed by Aaron rather than Moses, because the Nile had given Moses shelter as an infant. Although a river seems inanimate and insentient, Moses was nonetheless instructed by the Lord not to harm the Nile.

This lesson reminds me of when I was fortunate enough to attend a Dojo in Japan to further my education in martial arts when I was much younger. (A Dojo can be described as a special martial arts school.)

Our teacher one day took the class into a field and, showing us a stream, asked the students "what is that?" After hearing the obvious answers, our Sensai (teacher) corrected us by saying, "that Entity is the product of everything that has ever happened to it."

He then went on to explain that at the beginning of time and creation, somewhere in the mountains a drop of water condensed and formed, then rolled down an incline, picking up dust and wearing a tiny path. Other drops joining, to make first a trickle, then a stream.

Over the Millennia countless other drops and droplets ran down the slope, gradually smoothing the mountains and wearing away the hills.

When a creature stepped in the "stream" it caused a depression, and disturbed silt which flowed down and wore other parts away while the depression of the footprint altered the flow patterns, thus changing the very nature of the waterway. So that, whatever, and whenever anything happened anywhere along the length of the stream and its tributaries or in its "watershed," it changed the shape and flow of the whole waterway.

In effect he was telling us students that everything that happens to anything helps to mold the character of and shape what the end result to that thing will be.

As we look at this we cannot help but see the hand of God at work, from the mounding of the original mountains to the creation of the molecules of water; and realize that our actions, deeds, and even words can have a part in shaping of most anything.

The aim of our Sensai was to show that no matter what we see--it is the result of everything that has happened to it in the past. He did not mention that God had caused all of this to happen, he did not need to. I, at least was lost in the Awe at the concept.

He went on to tell us that we ourselves are the product of all of our experiences, and that, to become one with ourselves we must accept that if we are what we are, then we must accept that all that has happened to us (both the "good" and the "bad") is, in its own way, good.

We know that the stream, or the river, or the tree that we see are created by the Lord. Just as any other life or "entity" is created by Him, and, if it has been created by the Lord it is, in fact, a part of HIM.

Most importantly though, if we do not respect all of the Lord's creations, then, in truth, we are not respecting the Creator.

We are taught that we not only need to be tolerant of others, but that we need to respect them just as we respect ourselves.

Now, respect can be likened to a precious gem, with many facets, all displaying beauty, and respect does bring a sense of beauty and peace.

We look at the Lord's artistry in the morning, marveling at the transformation of the earth with the birth of each new day, and again at the arrival of the evening; as the tones and hues blend and change we feel an awe deep within ourselves as His beauty communes with His gift within each and every one of us that we call our soul.

This is just one form of respect.

Just as the flashing reflections and refraction's of light cause the same awe deep within us as we contemplate the precious gem. Imagine if we did not respect the dawn? It would leave a void in our experiences, an emptiness!

Now contemplate a field of grain and the plants that yield us grain--like wheat or barley? Let us say for example that we decide that it is in our interest to get warm on a cool evening, so we light a small fire near the corner of the field of ripening grain.--A "chance" spark and the field is ablaze with the result that there are no plants left in the field, only ashes--with the end result of no grain, which means no flour, no bread.

A moment of disrespect, or lack of respect, can destroy the harvest.

Then there are those who DEMAND respect, under pain of reprisal--in their own opinion they deserve respect from others, and therefore feel betrayed if they do not feel "respected!" They can often become quite mean in their search for respect from others.--Little realizing that "enforced" or "commanded" respect is much more likely to be in truth, resentment, disdain, or contempt, and their strutting and arrogance more pathetic than poetic.

Respect comes from within!

First we must respect ourselves, our bodies, our health, our spiritual being (not necessarily in that order). In that way we are respecting the gifts that the Lord gave us of a body and soul.

As we learn to respect ourselves it shows in the inner peace that we feel, and as we feel that inner peace we automatically begin to act with the same respect that we feel within ourselves towards other entities, and to all of God's Creations.

At the same time--Surprise! Surprise! We begin to notice that others are beginning to respect us.--That we are earning respect!

This is true respect, freely given, freely received, in a way, the mutual recognition of the Lord's gifts in each other, and none of the contempt of imperiously commanded "respect."

Most important though, and easiest to remember is that God is in everything, and if the Lord withdraws Himself there would be a void-- --NOTHING.
 

Moshe I. Stein
Shasta County Jail
1655 West Street
Redding, CA 96001