Prison

We imprison ourselves

Today I watched a music video of a Christian artist playing for people who are in prison.  It was incredibly touching to see these men who have been toughened by this world be moved by this music.  And it made me think, we are all in a prison.  It may not be with visible bars or a cell, but we do create our own confinement. 

 

We have been conditioned over our lives to be afraid to try new things.  We have been told that if we do something that is different that we will not be accepted.  And we have chosen to believe that if we do something that is outside of the box that we will suffer rejection.  Maybe those things are true, but most of the time the critics are people we have never even met.  Or they may be someone important in our life, but they are not capable of reaching others in the same way that we are able to.  Yet we choose to allow their opinion of us prevent us from doing something great.  And in doing so, we create confinement for ourselves.

 

I am sure that this artist received his fair share of criticism for performing for those prisoners.  But what a difference it may have made for them.  Seeing the sheer joy on their faces was amazing.  And it made me realize that we have no idea how some small gesture that we make towards another human being can have an enormous impact on them. 

 

When we feel prompted to do something for others, we will hesitate until our doubting self takes over and convinces us that we should not take action.  But what we don’t understand is, that small effort on our part may be the very thing that another person needs to feel hope, love, or joy.  And it may be the only time they have felt that someone cares about them in a long time.   Today I encourage you to reach out to others.  We never know what someone is going through.  We don’t understand how a small action that we take can have a big impact on someone else.  This person may feel like they are in prison, and you may be holding the key