Think about it. What is a marriage if not the creation of a community of individuals. All who read this column came from a family and were raised by some sort of family. We have schools, churches, mosques, synagogues, universities, governments, armies, teams, secret societies, corporations, gangs, and on and on. If you believe in a triune God, then you believe that even God is a community of “persons.”

It is in “community” that love is shared and lessons of love are taught. It is, also, in “community” that gangs and armies wage war with the larger community. In the end, it is a fact that communities, whether seen in family or church or politics have a choice in terms of how they will function — out of love and caring or out of anger and tyranny.

Life is full of choices. What is the purpose of your particular group? And, why is your membership in that group NOT a waste of time? Your answer to these questions will not only effect life in your church, your family or even your gang — it will effect the quality of life in the community in which you live.