Why is the first step in becoming the people we want to be -- people who can ennoble the world -- making the decision to love God?

Because loving God, or worshipping God if you want to put it that way, teaches us that we are not the crown of creation, that there are forces in life that matter far more than our own little egos.

[caption id="attachment_432" align="alignright" width="300" caption="We are part of a greater whole."]<a href="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/hands-of-support.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-432" title="hands-of-support" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/hands-of-support-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>[/caption]

I have been and remain a Christian of the Roman Catholic variety, but I would never attempt to impose my specific religious beliefs on anyone. Many religions have contained resurrections stories, and gods from Isis to Adonis were believed to have died and returned from the dead.

It isn't Christianity that ennobles us.

It's love.

When we love God, whether that god is Jehovah or Allah or Gaia, we accept our own role in the overall scheme of things. We accept that we are part of a whole, and that we are at least partly responsible for the overall health and prosperity of that whole.

Christ told us to "love one another as I have loved you." (John 13:34) If we make the decision to put our lives second, at that moment we make the world a better place.

If we "do unto others as (we) would have others do unto (us)," (Matthew 7:12) and behave that way consistently, we come into contact with the divine spark within each of us and make our own world wonderful.

It isn't a case of running around looking for good deeds to do or giving all your money away, although there isn't anything really wrong with looking to do good work. You don't need to abandon your own life and depend on "the kindnesses of strangers," unless your name is Blanche DuBois.

Just consider a few small ways you can start to change the world without tremendous effort on your part:

-- Smile at the people you meet, and whenever possible, share a kind word with them. "You look nice today," or "I've always admired how hard you work" or even the ubiquitous "Have a great day."

-- Thank people sincerely for the things they do for you, and when they thank you, don't just mumble "Sure" or "No problem," tell them, "It's my pleasure."

-- Stop being negative or sarcastic toward the people you know. Stop calling them by nicknames that demean them, and if someone says something obvious to you, don't say "Ya think?" as if they have wasted your time, say something like "You're absolutely right." Make people happy that they know you.

Those things all come from a spirit that doesn't believe it is the crown of creation. They come from a spirit that understands we are all part of a greater whole, and we all have our duty to help create a better life for everyone.

They're all part of the first step, of understanding that love ennobles us.

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<em>This post was originally written for AllVoices.com.</em>