Primum non nocere…..First, do no harm. Yesterday, as I was riding in my car, making my way around the congested Twin Cities freeway system, I was listening to the congressional deliberations about sending more troops to Iraq. I listened as people from both sides of the aisle presented their passionate arguments, hopefully from places of deep personal conviction and also an even deeper desire to serve the people who worked hard to allow them to be in the plush seats in which they rest. I tried to listen without judgment, not easy. But ringing like a bell out of the rhetoric came the words from one of the speakers-I don’t remember who-"do no harm".

I knew I had heard this phrase before so I went in search of its source. Primum non nocere…first, do no harm. It is actually a fundamental medical concept of Hippocrates. First, do no harm. I began to think of  how transforming that phrase could be in  my daily life. As I go into a difficult meeting…..first, do no harm. As I negotiate a conflict with my teenager…first, do no harm. As I prepare a sermon or visit someone in the hospital…first, do no harm. You can tailor the situations to fit your own life.

To think first of doing no harm causes me to hold gently whatever is before me, recognizing the vulnerability of life itself. To think first of doing no harm, compels me to choose my words wisely, think not only of myself but of my affect on the great web of life. It reminds me of the words of the prophet Micah in the Hebrew scriptures: What does God require of you but to do justice, love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?

As it relates to the situation in Iraq, I am unsure how "first, do no harm" can or will be played out. In the finger-pointing, the mire of political push and shove, the different lenses with which those in power see the world, it seems nearly impossible. My prayer is that each of us, with our eyes on the Greater Good, can through prayer and action, be change agents that choose to follow the wisdom of Micah. And that is also my prayer for our government and those who literally hold the lives of millions in their hands.

Have a blessed weekend……primum non nocere.