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United We Stand – Revisited!

By Ariel Bar Tzadok
Copyright © 2013 by Ariel Bar Tzadok. All rights reserved.

“We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.” Benjamin Franklin

Taking a stand requires a lot of courage. Taking a stand all by oneself makes one a target. Taking a stand together as a group makes one's stand stronger. The greater the group, the greater the stand. Not every battle is a losing battle. Some battles can be won, especially, if and when, they are fought in the right way.

The way our world is going at present suggests that ongoing imbalance and insecurity will only continue to worsen as we march into the future. This is not good, but as bad as it is, there is still something that each of us, as individuals, can do. We do not have to contribute to what is wrong with the world. We can contribute to what is right!

Many strongly crave to ignore what is happening all around us, and simply shrug their shoulders in an expression of apathy. “Yes, the world is going to hell,” they say, “but there is nothing that we can do about it, so why worry? God will be with us to get through it all.” We have heard these apathetic words before. We have seen where such apathetic language takes those who embrace it.

In the last century, we sat back and watched, and many even contributed, to the rise of an evil that sought to destroy everything good in this world, and indeed did succeed in destroying 60 million human lives. And for what? Did WWII put an end to evil? It certainly did not! Sixty million died to stop evil, but all they did was to put it to sleep for a little while.

Today, nothing has real has changed. Evil still exists, and in many ways, is stronger, and certainly more subtle than it was in the last century.

Are we really so naive, so ignorant to believe that the present growing, malignant, global evil is just somehow going to magically disappear, without causing the havoc and destruction that it did not so long ago?

Are we going to continue burying our heads firmly in the sands of denial, proclaiming that we will be immune to the next evil outburst, because we are God's children, and that he will miraculously save us?

How many are really paying attention? How many can look beyond themselves to see a larger world?

The scary truth is that most people today are so terribly self-centered, and focused on their own individual lives, and livelihoods, that most do not want to be bothered to have to look honestly at what is really happening all around us.

Those who do see what is happening are so overwhelmed and shocked that they run for cover back into their private lives, and seek to block off any serious consideration of what is coming down the pike.

Those who are not prepared for a thing, for the most part, are unprepared for it.

Those unprepared to face a crisis, for the most part, are swept away in that crisis.

It takes preparation to be prepared to face what is more and more clearly becoming a frightening future.

Where do our loyalties lie? Do they lie only with our individual selves, or with something greater? Is our attitude one of “every man for himself,” or is it “united we stand, divided we fall.” Needless to say the difference between these two are significant, and could be the difference between life and death.

More and more individuals are becoming more and more isolated from one another. We are losing the concept of unity, and falling into the dangers of isolationism. In these states of individual psychological isolations, it is very easy for each individual to become a victim to whatever forces that may prey on him/her, and for the rest, not to give too much of a damn as to what is happening. The predominant attitude is “better him than me.”

One thing history has taught us, and will always teach us, is that yesterday they came for the other guy, but tomorrow they will come for me.

And the age-old question will be, who will help me tomorrow, when they come for me? The answer is always the same, he who will help you tomorrow is he who helped the other guy yesterday. If there is such a guy, then you have hope for help. If there is no such guy, then kiss your hope goodbye.

My message is simple: be that other guy! Be the one to help another!

Don't sit around apathetically waiting to be helped. You! Be the helper!

There should never be any confusion as to who needs helps, and thus, who each should reach out and help. Arguments about politics, religion, and social issues are, for the most part, a distractive waste of time. Arguments only lead to divisions and strife, neither of which help the situation, but on the contrary, exasperate it, and make it worse.

Why focus on what divides us, when it is so vital that we focus on what unites us?

Our humanity is not defined by what we think about ourselves, but rather by how we act unto others.

In a society which continues to promote division and strife, and the breakdown of even the most basic of cohesive groups, we must act with dignity and respect towards others, even if they are different from ourselves.

Will we denigrate into the worst, primitive behaviors of rejecting others, leaving them to fend for themselves in their hours of need, just because they are different?

Our humanity is not defined by what we think about ourselves, but rather by how we act unto others. Our humanity hangs in the balance! And, the Court of Heaven, with God as judge is watching!

A warning to Jews! Even among those who claim that they love the Jewish people, there is still a lot of subtle hatred against Jews and Judaism out there. When bad times come, will the present friends of Jews, remain friends? I believe that many a Jew will be in for a surprise. Many who Jews thought could be trusted will turn out to be the most untrustworthy, and many who were thought to be the most untrustworthy will, in hard times, prove themselves to be the most trustworthy.

Remember, the hard times to come are a test of our humanity!

Those who proudly boast how close they are to God above all others, are usually the first to act inhumane, and to abandon the foundational principles of God and His true Word.

Watch out for those who say, “you don't believe like me, so you can go to hell.” In hard times, those who believe that you are going to hell, will be very happy to speed you along your way!

There are many good, God fearing human beings out there, of all religions, and walks of life. We have to be wise and in-depth investigators, to discovery who among us are the true and sincere, who can be trusted in times of crises, those who have no ulterior motive other than to love and help others, simply because they know that this is the right and Godly thing to do.

Banding together with like-minded, and like-hearted souls is one of the necessary ingredients for survival in a crises. This is true if such crises be a natural disaster or something worse.

We do not need to associate with anyone who would withhold good from one in need, because one does not convert, or otherwise accepts another's demands to change.

Not only in times of crises, true and sincere God fearing human beings put aside all differences of race, religion, doctrine, creed, and every other dividing factor, and stand together as one, as one people under God. Those who can do this are our friends and family. Those who cannot do this cannot be trusted, and will prove to be a danger in difficult times.

Our humanity is not defined by what we think about ourselves, but rather by how we act unto others. United we shall stand or divided we shall fall! God is watching us, testing our humanity.

Entrance to Heaven in the World to Come is not based on a test of theology and doctrine. Rather, Heaven welcomes only those who act humanely when the hour demands it.