The wind and sun were arguing about which of them were stronger between the two. “Look,” said the wind, “I’ll prove to you that I am more powerful. See that man down on the earth?

Let’s each exercise our power, and whoever can make that man shed his coat faster will be acknowledged as the more powerful.” “Fine,” the sun replied with a smile, “you go first.” So the wind howled and scowled; he huffed and puffed but the harder he tried, the more the man pulled his coat to shield himself from the cold. Finally the wind died down, exhausted from his efforts. Then the sun began to shine, gently but persistently, until the man unbuttoned his jacket one button at a time. Before long, he had shed not only his coat, but rolled up the sleeves of his shirt as well. The wind had to admit defeat. Although powerful, like the wind selfishness and unkindness cause us to keep to ourselves. On the other hand, love and kindness opens hearts just as the sun’s rays. It is my prayer that the focus of the 2012 Legislative Session is more on opening of hearts rather than proving who is more powerful.

When our hearts are cold and covered we tend to become selfish and unkind. Having cold hearts creates a world which defines success by being flamboyant, goal-driven, powerful, proud, self-centered, and self- made. In other words, cold hearts lead to selfishness. Unfortunately, most of us are pretty good at knowing what selfishness looks like when we’re looking at someone else. However, we easily become blinded when performing a self-evaluation. Our selfishness is manifested when we choose to believe our ideas are always right without giving consideration to another’s way of thinking. Even if our ideas are right when we attempt to strong arm or force our ideas on others we cause others to fasten their coats a little more. As humble servants, we are called to shine like the sun and to exemplify servanthood. Our success in life has nothing to do with how much power we have or how much we have accomplished for ourselves. But success is measured by what we do for others, how we better the lives of others. When we choose to lay down our own agendas or plans to serve others, we end up discovering our own life’s purpose. Our rays of love, kindness, and service will open the hearts of those whom we serve. We are called to let our lights shine so when our good works are seen, people’s hearts will be opened and God will be glorified.

We should relentlessly look for ways to let our light shine. We don’t have time for division, others are depending on us so it is time for all of us to shine.