Hopeless?

Some people seem never to learn.

They leave their crumbs on the table, put their dirty coffee cup in the sink, spit their chewing gum on top, and just don’t see - and smell - that the trash is overflowing.

Don’t they know any better?

If this were the case, the solution would be to inform them and show them how to finish a coffee break properly.

However, not knowing rarely is the reason. You may call it an attitude. These people just don’t care. Or, let’s say, they don’t care for what you care. They just seem to have other preferences.

Do we have to put up with that? Can we change someone’s values or preferences?

Some of us would say, It’s impossible, and consider these people hopeless cases. Probably, this would be right if we are expecting the shift to happen on the spot. Pointing a finger, though, seldom changes someone’s attitude or preferences and yelling at them won’t accomplish much; at best you will get a hypocrite.

If we want to see real change, we need to address a deeper level of consciousness. We will have to engage and teach and communicate in a way that shares our emotions, insights, values, and beliefs.

Jesus wouldn’t call anyone a hopeless case, far less start moralizing. Instead, he would aim at changing the people from the inside. And for a higher purpose than just raising their outward behavior.

He would try to touch their heart.

How do you do that?