I've had this idea bouncing around in my brain for several years now. It's one of those ideas that resurfaces when I am faced with difficult situations. You may find that this idea is inconsequential--maybe it's something you've had down pat for years--but I at least wanted to try to put it down on paper, because for me it's the answer to a lot of questions.
I think I can pretty much sum it up in one sentence:
We should be more interested in loving people than in judging them.
Our job is to love. It's God's job to judge.
I'm not going to waste my time detailing the exceptions to this rule. Yes, I know that there are times when we should intervene in the lives of others. Yes, I know that it is important to use wise judgment in our lives. And no, I am not saying you have to support or condone behavior that goes beyond your beliefs.
But we must love the people.
That is our job.
If I could actually figure out how to live this way, it would change a lot of things. I would spend less time focusing on the offender's mistake, and more time giving the offender a hand up. Throwing them a rope.
Because I find myself in need of a hand or a rope all too frequently.
I suppose living this way would require a lot of courage too. It is not easy to be disappointed by others without changing your view of them. But what would it be like to really invest in that idea? To do the job right?
I am more interested in loving others than I am in judging them.
Just a thought.
