Not just relevant to the past: Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On this day, many people in our nation get a day off from school or work in honor of someone that our nation has decided is a hero worth honoring.  We know that Dr. King was a huge force that pushed the civil rights movement to a new level.  However, I think that if he visited our nation today, he would probably not think that he could rest.  I believe that he would continue to fight for the underdogs in the system since the civil rights movement did not immediately create balance, and I learned today that he was a activist for the poor as well.

"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom."  -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Indeed, there was more to Dr. King than we commemorate!  While he was probably speaking out against spending our resources in Vietnam (a war which he opposed) when he said this, would he feel much different about the endless wars that we have been in since his untimely passing?  How would he feel about how we treat those in poverty today?  Would he think that we are sufficiently lifting them up?

I don't believe that Dr. King's goals for the US must be your goals.  I don't believe that he was a perfect man with all the right ideas.  However, from what I have heard, I do believe that he was a hero, and I respect him.  As such, I think that it is worth considering his ideas outside of the realm of civil rights.  So, as you go about your day, perhaps you can take a few moments to honor our hero by asking yourself what you are called to do to uplift those who need uplifting.

"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness."  -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

May we live unselfish lives filled with love.  I leave you with a favorite quotation of mine:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."  --Martin Luther King, Jr.