The Religion Corner: Nine Principles for Dynamic Living (Part 7)

Lyndia Grant

by Lyndia Grant
Special to the NNPA from The Washington Informer

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. — Luke 6:38

The lives of hundreds reached new heights on Saturday, July 26, when the Gamma Phi Delta Foundation, of which I serve as vice president, coordinated a health fair in Dallas, Texas. It afforded me an opportunity to help others. It connected me to a life force far larger than myself. Hundreds of people attended – many from the Dallas-Fort Worth area – and others from around the country – who had come to participate in our conference.

Parkland Hospital staff checked blood glucose levels, and many discovered their blood sugar was over 300, and those previously diagnosed with diabetes returned to their hotel rooms for an additional dose of insulin in tablet form or an insulin shot.

Others learned that their diets had caused their blood pressure to escalate; and they had their cholesterol levels checked during the fair. In addition, HIV/AIDS testing also took place. This type activity was done to help others. What I get out of it is simple: “my living shall not be in vain, because I had the chance to help somebody along the way.” Some one’s life has been profoundly touched because as a member of a board, whose mission is to help others, we were successful.

One of my Texas sorority sisters walked up to me to thank me for my presentation on diabetes. I told my story, of what happened to my mother who suffered with complications due to diabetes; and how my family didn’t know anything about the disease. But then, I told them about myself and my sister and how we had turned things around. She thanked me, and so did many others.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.” — Romans 12:1

Helping others can be about giving them a morsel of food, or some money but it can also be about serving. My brother, Dalton, who runs a successful floor business in the Los Angeles area treats his workers extremely well, they would do anything for him. He cares about them and they know it! Helping others makes you bigger.

Mahatma Gandhi is an example of someone who stood up in defense of the vulnerable and the downtrodden; millions took a stand with him against war and conflict and countless millions more embraced his Gandhian philosophy of nonviolence. And even after his death in 1948 – Gandhi’s commitment to nonviolence and his belief in simple living continue to resonate in areas well beyond the Indian sub-continent – making his own clothes, eating a vegetarian diet and fasting for self-purification as well as a means of protest – continue to serve as a beacon of hope for oppressed and marginalized people throughout the world.

Let’s study the method by which Gandhi attained power. It can be explained in a few words. He achieved power by persuading more than two hundred million people to coordinate, with mind and body, in a spirit of harmony, for a definite purpose. He did this to help his people.

In short, Gandhi accomplished a miracle, because it’s certainly a miracle when two hundred million people can be persuaded – not forced – to cooperate in a spirit of harmony, for an indefinite time. If you doubt that this is a miracle, try to persuade two people to cooperate in a spirit of harmony for any length of time.

We do indeed heighten our own lives when we help others heighten theirs.

Lyndia Grant is a radio talk show host on 1340, WYCB AM, Fridays at 6 p.m. Visit her website at www.lyndiagrant.com, call her at 202-518-3192; or email lyndiagrant@lyndiagrant.com.