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.
4 comments:
Awesome. Thanks, Star.
Also, about the "exceptions", I think if we could learn to love more fully then we wouldn't have to worry about the exceptions. If we truly love someone then we wouldn't need to "judge" them unless it was really a way of helping them. Maybe a big reason that it's God's job to judge is not just because of his wisdom, but because of his love. His judgments are only to benefit us.
Life isn't that easy. We all need to have that Bishop-like ability to do both at the same time. So many people take the easy way out and go along with sin. That's not what we are commanded to do.
Marshall,
I agree that life is not simple. But maybe that's why I wish I was better at living this idea.
Loving people does not mean "tak[ing] the easy way out and go[ing] along with sin." Actually, I think love is the more difficult way out. It's easy to ostracize wrong-doers. It's harder to forgive, and welcome them back.
As I stated before, we obviously need to use wise judgment, and we don't have to support behavior that is contrary to our beliefs.
And I absolutely agree that there are those who have been set apart by God (including bishops--good example!) to judge in that capacity.
But at this point, that is not MY official job. My job is to LOVE God and my neighbor.
Loving others is my job.
That's what I've been commanded to do.
Sometimes I still have a hard time going out by myself because I'm convinced people are judging me. It's ridicoulous I know and kenny tries to tell me that people don't even care i'm there, but I still feel like it. The other day I went to the grocery store to get 5 things on my list. I ended up just throwing stuff in my cart because I felt all this pressure form people and was sure they were judging me. I only ended up getting 3 of the things. It's irrational and I still have problems. But it would make a difference if people were being nice and caring instead of judgemental.
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