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Scottish Charity Register No. SC043760

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April – May 2024 : Compassion READ ONLINE

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Love is the law

November 01 2020

McGinlay finds out what motivates the man studying in the corner of her local McDonald’s

Myself and Roshstein first met at our local 24-hour McDonald’s for the same reason – we were using the free WiFi. Over a couple of weeks, we got acquainted and discussed different topics. I gave him a copy of the Pavement, asked him to read it through and then give it to the first homeless person he saw and offer them a hot drink!

At McDonald’s I would see Roshstein often with his laptop and piles of study books. He works in retail and he’s studying for two degrees – business and law. Soon I saw this guy is literally a godsend. I say that being serious as he is a Christian. Sometimes at McDonald’s they are short-staffed and when he sees that, he’ll take a study break and go around the restaurant, clear up all the rubbish and wipe down the tables with the cleaning spray. He even knows where the cleaning cupboard is. He doesn’t get paid to do this! Anytime I walk down the local high road with him we get stopped every five minutes because everyone knows Roshstein.

He believes in showing love through actions. He’s studying because he wants to open an independent law firm to provide a service for people who may be financially stuck, struggling or have no finances at all, but still need legal representation. This may be in cases of eviction or in cases with People of Colour being discriminated through institutionalised systems. He also wants to help people if they’ve come out of prison. He says he wants to help those that are, Biblically speaking, in need – the hungry or troubled, as the ‘good book’ says.

In light of recent events in 2020 with the protests against racism and police discrimination, I started to ask people from different backgrounds and perspectives different questions. I wanted to see Roshstein’s point of view from a faith and a law aspect. The message he writes opposite is from a faith angle as that’s the principle he wants to apply within his law firm. His convictions start from his belief systems and he wants to create a service based on that foundation.


Roshtein on love...

Racism is found in several places in the Bible. For example, when Jesus met and ate with the sinners he healed them, but the Pharisees and Jews said if you were a Jew you would not eat and drink with sinners. Jesus taught us to love your brother as you love yourself. Jesus taught all. He meant it so we share Christ’s love to all men. Today we see different kinds of racism and racist comments and racist acts.

Racism is not of God but of the devil. When we start to marginalise people and where we think they should be in society and how much they should be paid, this is racism. This matter runs deep in the hearts and minds of a society who does not know God. Racism has to do with superiority versus inferiority which equals discrimination.

This is something which we are not born with, but are traits predetermined by external factors. For example, if you placed a group of children between the ages of two to five-years-old they would all play without expressing race or colour differences. They would be taught by the same teacher as one big happy family.
The problem of racism could lie with parents and society causing division - although, God said to ‘love your neighbour as you love yourself’. The greatest commandment in the Bible is love.

People sometimes use the Bible in the wrong way by saying an ‘eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’. If this was taken literally, we would be an eyeless, toothless society.

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April – May 2024 : Compassion

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