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  • Types of Mental Health Services

    Types of Mental Health Services

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    In the last few years we have gained awareness of the various needs that individuals with mental health issues need in order to achieve overall well-being. Many times, we talk about the importance of medication, individual counseling, family counseling, and, socialization.

    Those are all of extreme importance when it comes to mental health but the one service that seems to be forgotten is care management. A lot of people attribute care management services to individuals who are aging or who have chronic medical conditions. Although, care management can be very helpful for those issues, we also see a huge need for intense care management for individuals who have a chronic mental illness and cannot get access to any services. It is not a secret that severe and persistent mental illness like schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, and major depression can require intense care management and advocacy.

    Just as a refresher, the duties of a mental health care manager include:

    • Acting as a connector between the individual and the community resources
    • Advocating on behalf of the individual so that he or she gain access to needed quality services
    • Overseeing the care of an individual including medication management, doctors' appointments, therapy, psychiatric services, and anything else related to their care
    • Connecting the client's family to support services such as individual, family, or group counseling
    • Being an advocate if there is need for hospitalization to ensure the safety of the client and their family members
    • Facilitating access to needed benefits
    • Assisting the individual with navigating all the different services so that it does not become overwhelming for them
    • Crisis intervention
    • Alleviating family members of some stress regarding the care and wellbeing of their loved one
    • Coordinating for advanced planning for the individual
    • Connect individual with social services and programs
    • Any service that the person may need the care manager will make that connection.

    As professionals in the field of mental health, we see that families with loved ones living with a mental health condition often want an immediate and instant "fix" for their family member. It is important for them to keep in mind, that a mental illness is a lot like a physical illness that needs constant care. This is not to say that you cannot live a "normal" life with a mental illness however extra care is needed. In addition, as family members it is important to remember that you also have a vital role in the recovery of your loved one. The more involved you are, the more likely your loved is to recover.

    There is a lot of value in having a care manager involved in the care of your loved one with a mental illness. A care manager will initially do a full initial assessment of your loved one's needs and wishes and will explore what services can add value to the life their life. They will explore the physical, psychological, social, and emotional well-being of your family member and will assess for possible gaps that need to be filled. For example, your family member may be living with schizophrenia and has been in and out of the hospital while being non -compliant with medication. Once this happens we know that your loved ones has probably had many psychotic episodes resulting in severe impaired functioning. Therefore. he or she may need home care services to assist with activities of daily living such. However, every case is different some more severe than others.

    Another common case for care management is one that your adult child has recently been diagnosed with a mental illness and you as parents / family members do not even know where to start. In cases like this, the care manager steps in and coordinates for all initial care. When this occurs we often see a sense of relief in our family members as they often will say "I do not even know how I would have started this process without you". A care manager is also a huge support system for the individual as they now know that they have an advocate overseeing their needs and wishes.

    It is important to remember that living with a mental illness or having a family member with a mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of. In addition, the diagnosis of a mental illness does not mean that the person's life is over as many people mistakenly think. We have worked with many individuals and their families as they cope with diagnoses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, and many others. The beginning of the process is usually made up of what we like to call growing pains full of discomfort. It is important to note that many of our clients with these diagnoses live normal lives but are able to do so because they gained access to the resources in the community. One very important step is accepting the presence of this new diagnosis and what it may mean. Another important step is realizing that you may need the help of psychiatric and / or home care services. It is important to act as early as you can, as early intervention can lead to the best results.

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    Source by Tom Mike

    Views: 0

  • How to Overcome MLM Challenges – Multi Level Marketing Tips For Success

    How to Overcome MLM Challenges – Multi Level Marketing Tips For Success

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    There are plenty of helpful tips available to help you overcome your MLM challenges. In my opinion most of the challenges we face in MLM are avoidable but only if you start off on the right path. When I am faced with a challenge in my primary opportunity its usually around developing new techniques for marketing, lack of customers, or lack of money. As business owners in the field of MLM we are faced with difficult challenges but they aren’t unlike those that any other business owner faces. We do face different challenges because of the nature of our business but if you plan for the unexpected and have a vision for the day-to-day operations of your company you’ll be able to thrive in your business.

    Every day businesses are birthed around the world within a dynamic and formidable marketplace where only the toughest survive. If you are in the network marketing industry you know that our environment is particularly fickle and can be a tough training ground for the almost 25,000 people that join Multi-level marketing business everyday in the U.S. and the 95% that fail within their first year.

    Most people join network marketing companies not recognizing the importance of having a vision for how their business will grow and function in its infancy. There is concept that many large corporations use to lead their work on a daily basis and I think that it can be particularly effective for network marketers. Its called Strategic Planning. Planning is not a new concept to business corporations but it might be to those that don’t know about its extreme effectiveness for providing a roadmap for any business for periods of 6-months, to 3 years, to 20 years.

    By understanding the importance of this process and the questions that go into taking you through it, you can gain a better sense of preparedness for your company’s growth. As someone new to this industry you need as much structure in the beginning as possible to understand how to plan and set and meet your goals. By taking the first step in this process you will exhibit your commitment to your business and your leadership for your organization.

    You have to believe in something yourself first, before you can get others to believe.– Ashraf Seddeck, Oracle Corporation.

    What does your company do?

    What product or service do you provide?

    What is your mission statement?

    What are your company’s values?

    What is your plan for your first 30 days, 6 months, 1 year?

    What are your weaknesses/strengths?

    How will you market your business?

    Who is your competition?

    What might be challenges that prevent you from reaching your goal?

    What is your plan to grow your business over the next 12 months?

    What is your plan for recruiting for your business?

    What resources do you have to build your business?

    What is your budget for your business?

    What does your organization look like and what types of people are your recruiting?

    What actions are you taking on a daily basis to build your business?

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    Source by Inger L McDowell

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  • Importance of Evidence-Based Complementary Medicine

    Importance of Evidence-Based Complementary Medicine

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    The modern-day world has many challenges and thus good health is one of the greatest blessings in today’s era. For example, a rich man with a bad health will always be unsatisfied and unhappy! “Health is Wealth”. Improving your health is an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed. It is a fact that your health affects all the aspects of your life, be it professional, or personal. Probably that is the reason why evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine came into existence!

    With increasing number of health-related apps and journals on the internet, you can now easily move towards a healthier lifestyle. Even the experts of medicine have admitted that the advice and products of work best when supplemented with a doctor’s standard care and supervision.

    As the famous proverb suggests, “Prevention is better than cure” and evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine helps you achieve this goal. So, here are a few benefits that you might get if you follow an integrative healthcare protocol:

    • It helps you in receiving specific treatment plans as per your physical requirements. As each individual has a unique body, it is not advisable to subscribe to a generalized treatment protocol. An effective biotyping assessment studies your inherited traits such as body frame, personality type, digestive capacity, metabolic activity, nutrigenomics, as well as environmental factors. In this way, it provides you with a personalized holistic Integrative healthcare medicine advice.
    • It aims at examining and treating all the aspects of physical as well as emotional components. It is proven that daily stress negatively affects your emotions, biology and genetics. All this further results in greater risks of several chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease!
    • It offers a wide range of Natural Cure and Remedies so that you are not completely dependent on pharmaceuticals, many of which have side-effects. The food that you eat is one of the biggest reasons behind your healthy (or unhealthy) life! Following unhealthy food habits can result in an increase in the risk of heart conditions, high blood sugar, obesity, etc. So, what could be better than utilizing food as a medicine?
    • It focuses on the prevention of diseases before it even occurs. While conventional medicines are prescribed for a lifetime for chronic disease, alternative medicine examines the root causes of the disease. It also encourages the patients to focus on preventing a disease by eating healthy foods, exercise, meditation, etc.

    So, if you also wish to treat or prevent any disease with Natural Cure and Remedies, evidence-based complementary medicine is the key! After all, it’s never too late for improving your health.

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    Source by Luke Harper

    Views: 0

  • Quality Products for Quality Lifestyle

    Quality Products for Quality Lifestyle

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    Farm Fresh milk is the milk which is organic, natural, pure and delivered to you in the shortest time possible. Finding any trusted source online which delivers farm fresh milk to your doorstep everyday is very difficult. Thus, here we are to help all those women out there. Just turn into online shoppers and save your time with just one click.

    Out of all the top quality farm fresh milk out there, Nutoras is one popular name. Nutoras Grade A+ milk is immediately chilled after getting the cows milked. It is immediately homogenised and pasteurised to ensure all bacteria present in the milk is killed and the fat doesn’t separate from the milk to form a layer on top. Untouched by human hands, it is then packed into pouches and delivered to your home as early as possible.

    Farm fresh milk is full of nutrition and enriched with calcium which is extremely important for growing children and women. This milk should be boiled before consumption and consumed within 3 days.

    Let’s take a look at the nutritional benefits of this dairy product

    Minerals:

    Fresh milk contains calcium and phosphorous to a great extent. When both the nutrients are consumed together, the absorption of calcium increases. It helps to improve the bone health and helps the skeletal integration. Phosphorous also helps in creating energy from the food you consume.

    One cup of the dairy beverage helps to satisfy 30% of the daily requirement of both the nutrients.

    Protein:

    This nutrient helps in repairing muscles, maintaining blood supply and creating antibodies.

    Protein provides amino acids to your body. Although, some amino acids can be obtained from other meals and foodstuffs, there are approximately 12 out of 20 amino acids which only farm fresh milk can give you. Milk is a rich source of protein. 1 serving of this dairy beverage gives 8 grams of proteins.

    Vitamin:

    The dairy beverage gives vitamin A, B and D group of vitamins. These groups maintain eye and skin health, helps to absorb calcium from your food consumption and also helps to enhance your metabolism. One serving of fresh milk gives you around 20% of vitamin A, 50% of D and 50% of B.

    Sugars:

    The major sugar which milk contains is lactose. This is a complex sugar and needs enough amount of lactase in your intestine to break down into simple sugars, namely glucose and galactose.

    Generally, sugars are needed by the body for the healthy maintenance of kidney and brain health. These sugars provide carbohydrates to your body which is converted into energy and makes you go through the day. 1 cup of this dairy beverage provides 12 grams of sugar to the body. But if you are suffering from lactose intolerance, that is allergy of lactose, than this wouldn’t really be a benefit for you.

    A word of caution! You should always buy from a trusted source. Pouches are adulteration prone and adulteration can lead to a lot of diseases.

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    Source by Sunny Sharma

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  • 3 Common Sports Injuries Require the Involvement of a Doctor

    3 Common Sports Injuries Require the Involvement of a Doctor

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    Are you a sports person? If yes, then you may know that injuries and sports have a very close relation. Actually, as an athlete, you can never avoid injuries; it is not in your hand at all. There are various reasons that cause wounds and some of them include the incorrect process of exercise, wrong training procedure, and weakness and so on.

    Most of the cases, home remedies may treat these injuries. However, there are certain cases, in which they fail to respond to home remedies. Now, this is the time to visit the sports medicine physician. The doctor provides you with the best treatment to cure you.

    Well, some common types of the injuries which need the help of an orthopedic sports doctor. In the below section, I have discussed some common types of wounds that the athlete generally face. Have a close look at the below section to get a clear idea about this topic.

    1) Ankle Sprain

    You may face ankle sprain when the ligament in the ankle tear. Ligaments are the long and stretchy bands which help in stabilizing the ankle. The basketball, soccer and volleyball players generally face this problem. If you have this problem, you are likely to face the following symptoms,

    • Tenderness to the touch

    • Itching

    • Swelling

    • Bruising

    • Stiffness and so on

    If you feel severe pain, you should take the help of a renowned doctor.

    2) Knee Injury

    Ligament injuries in the knee like anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) can put you on the bed for 2 weeks. The ligaments in the knees which are prone to injury include,

    • Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)

    • Lateral collateral ligament (LCL)

    • Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL)

    If you have a knee injury, you may feel severe pain. Swelling is a very common symptom. If the injury is mild, it may heal on its own in time. For the severe knee injuries, visit a reputed and trustworthy orthopedic sports doctor.

    3) Shin Splints

    After your daily run, your shins may ache and throb. if you face this problem, there is a possibility that you may face shin splints. Weakness in the muscle of the hips, stress fractures is the causes of this injury. If you face shin splints, you may follow the following tip to cure this wound,

    • Take rest

    • Ice on the shin

    • Consume anti-inflammatory painkillers

    • Use the orthotics for the shoes

    • Take physical therapy

    Visit the sports medicine physician to get the best solution and the latest treatment. Choose the doctor wisely to have the proper treatment for treating the injury.

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    Source by Rajib KR Saha

    Views: 0

  • How to Think Like a Marketer

    How to Think Like a Marketer

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    Many people say they hate marketing. That’s usually because they think marketing is all about advertising and sales.

    Marketing is a process, not an event. It involves research, promotion, and distribution along with advertising and sales.

    Maybe the most important and most overlooked aspect of marketing is having the right marketing attitude or marketing mindset. Think like a marketer.

    When you have a marketing mindset, you ask how you can build brand awareness to help your target audience become familiar with your products and services, and you as well. Developing that know, like, and trust factor with your audience is key.

    As you develop a marketing mindset, ideas of how to meet marketing goals on a daily basis will come easily, but here are a few ways to get started:

    • Know Your Product & Service Inside Out: This may sound obvious but think about how many times we, as customers, have walked away from buying something because the person helping us couldn’t answer a few basic questions about their product or service.
    • Find Ways to Leverage Mistakes of Competitors: It’s easy to see what the competition is doing well but just as much (and sometimes even more) can be learned by observing what your competition is doing not so well. The Internet is saturated with career service companies, but what makes your career service better than your competitors? Do your homework. Where are they weak? What client needs are not being met and what can you do to step in and meet those needs?
    • Point Clients In Your Direction: Solve client problems. Point them to one of your services or products and emphasize the benefits, value, and results they can gain from it-being a solution to their problem.
    • The “Bottom Line” Isn’t Just About Money Coming In: Looking for ways to save is just as important as finding new revenue streams. Instead of just recording where the money is going, watch for places to save. When looking at those numbers is there a way that sales can be made more efficiently?
    • Every Client Interaction Is a Networking Opportunity: The word “networking” makes some people uncomfortable. But it doesn’t have to be about schmoozing or closing a sale. It’s simply having a conversation in an effort to build new relationships or strengthen current ones.

    “The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.”-Peter F. Drucker

    In business, everything ties into marketing in one way or form-what you wear, how you communicate (verbally and non-verbally), and what you do to attract, retain, and maintain client relationships. All of it affects or contributes to the profitability and success of your business.

    Thinking like a marketer is a way of ensuring your company’s longevity.

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    Source by Maria Hebda

    Views: 0

  • Flexible Yoga for Backbone Pain Relief and Overall Health

    Flexible Yoga for Backbone Pain Relief and Overall Health

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    Are you above 40 and thinking that developing hip flexibility or spinal flexibility at this age will not be possible? If yes, then read on. Hitting 40 is not an excuse to deprive yourself of good health, stamina and joint-pain free life you really deserve. However, what is important is to understand and choose something that works. Flexible yoga, as the name suggests is what you can try for back and hip flexibility, which is what keeps your overall fitness in good shape.

    What is flexible yoga

    As mentioned in one of our previous posts that yoga is not just a set of asanas or postures, flexible yoga is also not just about physical suppleness. However, we’ll keep the topic limited to physical flexibility for now. The basic idea behind flexible yoga is to develop suppleness in muscles and joints by using the most suitable set of asanas. As your spine becomes more flexible, you start gaining more stamina and overall better health.

    Pashchimottasana to make your spine supple

    It goes without saying that yoga as a whole is highly effective to control and cure many muscle and mind related issues. However, people have their own preferences in terms of choosing the right types of yogic postures, which are effective depending on individual needs. Personally, I like Pashchimottanasa to make and keep my spine flexible.

    Yoga for spinal suppleness

    • Surya Namaskar-Sun Salutation (12-step sequence)
    • Chakrasana-Semi-circular pose
    • Bhujangasana-Cobra pose
    • Ustrasanana -Camel pose
    • Paschimottansana-Forward bend
    • Balasana-Child’s pose
    • Shashankasana-Rabbit pose
    • Halasana-Plough pose
    • Sun salutation-surya namaskar

    Developing flexibility easily

    There are various other postures and variations of the above mentioned poses. It all depends upon what suits you and fits into your hectic daily schedule. Starting with easy postures such as child’s pose or cat cow pose, which can be done immediately after waking up while you are still in bed, are highly effective for beginners. You can move on to tougher postures as your spine starts becoming flexible.

    Easy posture for spinal flexibility

    Stretching is highly effective for suppleness of spine, muscles and other associated organs. You can start your day with a few stretching exercises such as cat cow pose. This is the easiest way to start making your spine flexible in addition to kick-starting your day actively and relieving your neck or back pain, if any.

    Make your spine flexible effortlessly

    We have covered Bhujangasana previously, but there is also a simple variation of this pose, which can be also be highly effective in keeping your backbone flexible, digestive system strong and neck pain-free. Simply lie flat on your stomach and lift your head and torso supported by your elbows. You need not stretch fully like you do while performing full Bhujangasana.

    Natural Stretch -Benefits of semi-Bhujangasana

    • No special equipment, place or time recommended.
    • You can do this anytime except after meals
    • You can also read, write or watch TV if this posture
    • Keeps your digestive systems strong
    • Reduces big belly and helps in overall weight loss
    • Makes your spine supple without having to do specific set of exercises
    • Relieves and prevents neck and back pain
    • Relieves tiredness and fatigue immediately
    • Positive state of mind
    • Stretching in any form is one of the most effective ways to develop spinal flexiblity which is highly recommended for overall health.

    Stretching is one of the most effective ways to develop spinal flexiblity which is highly recommended for overall health.

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    Source by Felix Godwin

    Views: 0

  • The Difference Between Good Success and Bad Success

    The Difference Between Good Success and Bad Success

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    Do you desire to be a good success here on this beautiful earth?

    Do you need the secrets that can ensure you record good successes in everything you do?

    If you answer YES to these questions, then i believe you need to know the difference between good successes and bad successes

    “This book of the Law shall not depart out

    of your mouth, but you shall mediate therein

    day and night that you may observe to do

    according to all that is written therein: for

    then you shall make your way prosperous,

    and then you shall have good success” – Joshua 1: 8 (KJ2000).

    The first time I read the above portion of the bible, I was inspired to understand that, there is a good success and a bad success.

    Nothing support this fact other than the passage quoted above from the Scripture. The Word of God says if “you will hearken to the Voice of God, Obey His Commandments, Study and Meditate daily on His Word, you will have good success”.

    The Word of God qualifies the noun “Success” with the adjective “good”. This simply means you will not have a bad success if you follow God’s rules during your success journey in life.

    What then, are a good success and a bad success? How do you differentiate a good success from a bad success? How do you recognize someone with a bad success and someone with a good success?

    Good Success

    I have tried to carefully study the lives of people in the bible days and those of present times and I found out that there are actually some people with good successes.

    I was able to reach a conclusion using my definition of success stated earlier on as a basis of analysis.

    God

    God Almighty enjoyed good success during the creation of heaven and the earth. He actually set the pace at creation, showing us how to obtain good successes in whatever we do.

    “And God saw everything that He had

    made, and behold, it was very good.

    And the evening and the morning were

    the sixth day.

    -Gen 1:31 (KJ2000)

    There were lots of obstacles which stared HIM in the face when HE was creating heaven and the earth but HE never allowed them to stop HIM.

    “And the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”

    -Gen 1:2 (KJ2000)

    Yes, even a formless earth and the darkness would not prevent Him from achieving His aim.

    “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:

    and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,

    and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”

    -Gen 1:26 (KJ2000)

    He also transferred His “breath of Life” into Adam for him (Adam) to become a living soul.

    What a loving and selfless God who strongly desired somebody to act like Him

    There are countless numbers of people in the Bible who had good successes: Jesus, Moses, Apostle Paul, King David, Joseph, John the Baptist, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob all had good successes.

    One thing is however, common with all these people and that is the fact that they fear God.

    “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom:

    and the knowledge of the Holy one is understanding.

    -Prov 1:10 (KJ2000).

    You can become a child of God by accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior and begin to live a life that has the fear of God.

    You can expect to record good number of good successes in your lifetime as you do this.

    Bad Success

    I may not need to bother you with the stories of people who recorded bad successes in the Bible or even in our societies today but you will observe with me that this set of people also have something in common – they lived a Godless life.

    You can study the stories of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt when the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt.

    Cain who killed his brother Abel (Gen 4:8)

    Herod the king who ordered the killing of all new born babies when Jesus was born (matt 2:13-23)

    Satan who fell from grace to grass because of pride (Luke 10:18)

    Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus ( Matt 26:36-46)

    These People all recorded bad successes. One thing is also common to these people: they lacked the fear of God.

    My dear reader, I want to believe you desire to be a good success. You need the fear of God in you to be successful in all you do.

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    Source by Sesan Oguntade

    Views: 0

  • Love One Another (A Sermon on John 13: 31-35)

    Love One Another (A Sermon on John 13: 31-35)

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    We are in the 13th chapter of the Gospel according to St John's this week, and I'm going to unpack our reading verse by verse as it is a difficult passage.

    "When he had gone out, Jesus said," Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. " (John 13:31)

    The person who had 'gone out' was Judas, and the sentence seems to suggest that Judas' leaving somewhat brought glory to Jesus, which sounds really odd.

    "If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once." (John 13:32)

    I really have no idea where to begin with that statement!

    "Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.'" (John 13:33 )

    That statement makes sense to us as Jesus speaking about his own impending suffering and death, though at the time it made no sense at all to His disciples.

    I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. "(John 13: 34-45)

    That concluding pronouncement, I suspect, is the most difficult to understand of all!

    "All you need is love!" – so said the Beatles.

    When I read statements like these from the lips of Jesus, I can almost hear the soundtrack of that well-known Beatles song playing in the background.

    "Love is all you need. Love is all you need …"

    It's not true, of course. Love isn't all we need – not in relationships, not in families, not in governments.

    We had an election yesterday. Did you vote for the most loving candidate? Should you have?

    I tried to give some thought after reading this passage as to who the most loving candidate for electoral office was. It wasn't obvious.

    It didn't take me long to come up with the names of politicians who were definitely NOT full of love and sweetness, but it seemed less obvious to me which candidates actually were.

    Did the candidate who loves us the most win? Do we care?

    In truth, in as much as we might say, "all we need is love" , I don't think we really care whether our political leaders love us, any more than we really care whether our boss at work truly loves us. Love is not all we need. A good capacity for management is probably far more important in cases like this than is love!

    Love is not all we need in government or in families, and it's not even all we need in a system of morality! This might sound counterintuitive. Is not all of morality – all our statements about what is right and what is wrong – really an extension of that basic ideal of love?

    Certainly, over the generations, scores of philosophers and other great thinkers have suggested that all of our moral intuitions can be reduced to one simple exhortation – if not 'to love' exactly, to something very akin to that.

    The British philosopher, John Stuart Mill, saw all of morality as a system of increasing pleasure for people and reducing harm. He is probably best remembered for his 'harm principle' :

    "That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others."

    I have a feeling that if you'd asked Mill what the essence of morality was, he might not have said 'love one another' , but might well have said 'don't' harm one another ' , which is pretty similar.

    Likewise, the great 18th century German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, believed that morality could be reduced to a single maxim – the 'categorical imperative' :

    "Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law."

    That's always sounded to me like a really complex way of saying 'love your neighbor as you would love yourself " , which, of course, was Jesus' 'golden rule' that many people see as being His one-line summary of the moral law , along with the first and great commandment, of course, that you have to love God:

    "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. " (Matthew 22: 37-40)

    We are familiar with these commandments. We hear them every week in church, and they do seem to suggest that everything in the law of God comes down to love, and that the rest is just commentary.

    Is that really what Jesus was saying? St Augustine thought so, and in my previous sermons on these passages, I have suggested exactly that – that there is really only one law of God – that we love – and that the rest is just application. My more recent reading though has suggested that it's actually a lot more complicated than that, at least if Jesus really was being true to His Hebraic tradition.

    The Hebraic law centers around the Ten Commandments – the ten words of God to the people of Israel – and while it seems straightforward to see commandments like "thou shalt not steal" and "thou shalt not murder" as being extensions of the commandment to love , other commandments like "honor thy father and thy mother" do not seem to be so easily reducible. Honoring your father and your mother seems to be more about respecting authority than it is about love .

    I've been reading a very interesting book lately by moral psychologist, Jonathan Haidt, called "the Righteous Mind" , in which he outlines what he calls 'moral foundation theory' .

    I'm not suggesting that everyone should rush out to get a copy of this book. It is not an easy read and could prove difficult if you don't have an academic background in the study of philosophical ethics (which, thankfully, I do).

    The author's key point, at any rate, is that our moral intuitions can't be reduced to any one simple maxim such as 'love one another' as morality is invariably more complex than that.

    Haidt suggests that there are five reasonably independent dimensions to our moral awareness, and 'caring' for others is just one of those dimensions. The others are:

    • Fairness (which is all about justice, rewards and punishments)
    • Loyalty (which is associated with values ​​such as faithfulness and patriotism )
    • Authority (where you honor your father and your mother, king and country)
    • Sanctity (which involves respecting your body and potentially embracing things like chastity, temperance and cleanliness)

    Forgive me if I'm now sounding more dry and esoteric than the book I mentioned. My point is actually a simple one – that 'all you need is love' is both simplistic and inadequate. We don't only need love – not if we are going to be successful in our relationships or in all of life. We actually need a lot of things – courage, self-discipline, wisdom, nurture and support and a good education, and more!

    Of course, Jesus didn't say "love is all you need". That was ' The Beatles' . What Jesus did say was "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" . In other words, Jesus didn't say that love is all we need to live a full and productive life. What He said was that it was all we needed in order to show the world that we are His disciples. That might sound like much the same thing but it's actually quite distinct.

    The life of love is not a strategy for success, despite what any number of tele-evangelists might have told you. Indeed, if it's right to consider it a strategy at all, the life of love could only be a strategy for getting yourself killed. That's certainly how it worked for Jesus.

    I'm sure I've mentioned before that friend who said to me "I'm sick of hearing people tell me about all the problems they had before they met Jesus and how He solved them all for them. till I met Jesus! "

    That's difficult to hear, I think. We don't want to think of Jesus as the one who leads us down a path of suffering and misery. We want to think of Jesus as one who elevates us to heavenly places.

    Isn't that what religion is for after all? Isn't good religion supposed to benefit our lives and help us live more fully and peacefully with a great sense of purpose and fulfillment? Surely, it's not just about suffering in this world so that we can enjoy a better life in the next? Surely there's more to it than that?

    I don't think Jesus is saying that discipleship is all about suffering any more than it is all about success. Discipleship, Jesus says, is all about love, and everything else depends on what Jesus means by love .

    Jesus says His command to love is a new commandment, and that's a surprise. Certainly, the commandment to love is as old as the Scriptures themselves, so it must be the latter part of the commandment – to love one another ' as I have loved you' – that makes it new.

    When we hear those words, I suspect most of us immediately think of the cross and Jesus laying down his life for us. That makes sense, and indeed the same Gospel writer, John, writes in his first letter "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us" (1 John 3:16). Even so, without wanting to press the issue of the timeline too heavily, the exhortation we have in today's Gospel reading -to love one another "as I have loved you" happens before the cross, suggesting that the model on view here may not be the death of Jesus but the life of Jesus!

    Further, as noted, today's reading begins with a reference to Judas – "when he had gone out" – and Jesus' exhortation to love each other as He has loved us comes immediately before the two terrible betrayals from disciples whom Jesus had just broken bread with and whose feet Jesus had just washed – the one betrayal being from Judas, of course, and the other one being from dear Peter!

    Jesus loved Peter, was betrayed by Peter, and would eventually be reconciled with Peter. Jesus loved Judas but would never be reconciled with him. Even perfect love does not guarantee a perfect ending to the story. Even so, love anyway – that's the new commandment .

    Yes, "greater love has no one than this – to lay down one's life for their friends" (John 15: 3). That is true, and bodily self-sacrifice is indeed the ultimate example of love, but most of the time love is not so grandiose and (thankfully) not quite so painful. The far more common (and in some ways more difficult) labor of love is the ongoing work of having to forgive those who fail us, and sometimes fail us very badly.

    This, I believe, is the love by which everyone will now that we are His disciples – it's the love that breaks bread with those who betray us and that washes the feet of those who turn their backs on us. It's the love that finds its ultimate inspiration in the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross, but which likewise finds daily encouragement in the simple acts of grace shown by Jesus towards those whom He knew would radically fail Him.

    I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. "(John 13: 34-45)

    It's not a strategy for success. It's not a means to a better life or more successful relationships. It's just the way that we demonstrate to the world that we are followers of Jesus. We break bread, we wash feet, we empathise, we forgive. We love one another just as He loved us.

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    Source by David B. Smith

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