“We are how we treat each other and nothing more.”

10.24.22

 

There is a song, “Nothing More,[1]” recorded by The Alternative Routes, that I think best expresses the love that we are to have for our fellow men and women. Here are the lyrics of the chorus:

We are love
We are one
We are how we treat each other when the day is done
We are peace
We are war
We are how we treat each other and nothing more

The theme of the chorus of the song is that we are how we treat each other and nothing more. We are good because we treat the other people with goodness and love; we are not good, because we don’t treat people well. The verses are more specific about loving others.

 

 

The first verse,

To be humble, to be kind

It is the giving of the peace in your mind

To a stranger to a friend

To give in such a way that has no end,

tells of a kinder/gentle way of being with someone. Being humble means to be able to set your own self aside in order to see the needs of others. As humble human beings we share our peace, to strangers, to friends, to everyone. And then we are always giving. This is a great definition of love. And kindness means a softer, more embracing way of being with people. We see their humanity, that they are a child of God, and worthy of our love and compassion.

 

The second verse again is so loving:

To be bold, to be brave;

It is the thinking that the heart can still be saved

And the darkness can come quick;

The Danger’s in the Anger and the hanging on to it

Now the songwriters are saying the only the bold and the brave know that the heart can be saved. Then the darkness, the difficulties can come back before we know it. But the real danger is our anger and holding on to it. Anger’s root is fear; fear is also something that God can overcome in us. We are not our anger and fear—those arise from what we have been taught about always protecting ourselves. If we’re protecting ourselves, then we are not loving ourselves and serving others.

 

 

The third verse carries on the theme of truly loving:

Tell me what it is that you see

A world that’s filled with endless possibilities?

Heroes don’t look the way they used to,

They look like you do.

Do you see a world with “endless possibilities”? Do you see yourself that way? Heroes are really just like you and me: they are ordinary people who move out in boldness to love. Of course, God is right there teaching us how to love, helping us to be at peace, to live in joy and in love.

 

The theme of the chorus is that it is in our relationships with other human beings that we show how loving we are. “We are how we treat each other when the day is done. We are how we treat each other and nothing more.” We are love and one with each other. We can live at peace or at war with others. Surely this is the message that Jesus taught by His wonderful example. We are to love everyone else, just like we love God–that is the proof of our love of God and the entrance ticket to the Kingdom of God, here on earth or in heaven.

 

[1] https://genius.com/The-alternate-routes-nothing-more-lyrics