As a child, I was raised to see the good people as those who gave of their time to others in very clearly defined ways, like working in a soup kitchen. If you weren’t working for others, then you were in trouble, and were less of a person. I know this sounds simplistic, but that is mostly how I understood what my mother taught me. She didn’t usually discuss how a person went to hell, though. It was more of a huge fear lurking in the background. I’m speaking of my mother here because she was my principle instructor in things of this sort.I don’t look at it this way anymore. Escaping from this type of thought was wonderful, especially since that escape allowed me to see value in people. They now have inherent dignity and worth, whereas before they were more the sum of what they could do. For example, there are certain relatives of mine that I can appreciate so much more now. That is a huge blessing to me. It is like a new vista. I appreciate my heritage of service to others as a value, though. My life is still affected by how I was raised.This escape took many years. It was effected by overlaying a new understanding, and then slowly removing the underlying beliefs that were incompatible. I'm sure I still have a holdout here and there, lurking in the depths.
