Sunday's Gospel from the Book of Luke has always been one of my favorite lessons taught through the church. I was first introduced to this passage when I was fifteen and attending classes when I wanted to be baptized and accept God into my life. The lesson was simple: Be humble in your walk of life, accept responsibility for your short comings, and be as forgiving to others as GOD has been to you. We are all challenged in our everyday walk of life in the area of forgiveness and judgment, to ourselves as well as towards others.
Forgiveness has always been more challenging to me than judgment. It is not so much the forgiveness of others as it is forgiving myself. I have never considered myself to be perfect in any way and quite honestly perfection is not something I strive to be. I often get accused of never being satisfied with anything that I do accomplish and while I will admit those accusing me of that are correct, it is not because I am striving for perfection, it is because I am afraid of letting others down. So when I feel I have not done my best, or could have done better, it is because I want to do better for others. I want to be a better writer and perhaps make more of an impact on the lives of my readers. I understand that as human beings, in today's world, we all struggle with basically the same issues. I have trouble forgiving myself for the times I feel I have not been a more positive influence on the lives of others around me.
No one wants to be judged, not for who they are or what they do. I do not have to try hard at all to avoid judging others and how they live their lives. I believe my Bushnell Ave upbringing in Sioux City Iowa taught me that lesson quick in life. When I escaped the house I was mentally, physically and sexually abused in I found myself not so willing to judge the things I witnessed in life and the people that were in those circumstances. Instead of judging the 'bum on the corner sleeping on the bench' I found him a place of shelter. Instead of walking away from someone I witnessed being bullied I stepped up and called out those judging them with their bullying actions. I am not calling myself out at being perfect by any means and I will always work on being a better Christian and a kinder individual. I am merely expressing how simple it is to take a stand against those that judge.
Personally I feel those that stand in judgement of others do so to avoid judging themselves. Admitting your own weaknesses is difficult and throwing judgement on others is an act of protecting ourselves from, well ourselves. The more we tend to judge others the more secure we feel in accepting what we do not like about ourselves. I think my friend Jewels said it best when she said "It is easy to point out the weaknesses in others as we hide the weaknesses in ourselves." She told me that she thinks that some people try to make themselves look better by pointing out the faults of others. I guess I agree with her outlook on the blame game and why people play it. There is no good reason to stand in judgement of those around us, it is just a way of excusing our own faults.
Forgiveness has always been more challenging to me than judgment. It is not so much the forgiveness of others as it is forgiving myself. I have never considered myself to be perfect in any way and quite honestly perfection is not something I strive to be. I often get accused of never being satisfied with anything that I do accomplish and while I will admit those accusing me of that are correct, it is not because I am striving for perfection, it is because I am afraid of letting others down. So when I feel I have not done my best, or could have done better, it is because I want to do better for others. I want to be a better writer and perhaps make more of an impact on the lives of my readers. I understand that as human beings, in today's world, we all struggle with basically the same issues. I have trouble forgiving myself for the times I feel I have not been a more positive influence on the lives of others around me.
No one wants to be judged, not for who they are or what they do. I do not have to try hard at all to avoid judging others and how they live their lives. I believe my Bushnell Ave upbringing in Sioux City Iowa taught me that lesson quick in life. When I escaped the house I was mentally, physically and sexually abused in I found myself not so willing to judge the things I witnessed in life and the people that were in those circumstances. Instead of judging the 'bum on the corner sleeping on the bench' I found him a place of shelter. Instead of walking away from someone I witnessed being bullied I stepped up and called out those judging them with their bullying actions. I am not calling myself out at being perfect by any means and I will always work on being a better Christian and a kinder individual. I am merely expressing how simple it is to take a stand against those that judge.
Personally I feel those that stand in judgement of others do so to avoid judging themselves. Admitting your own weaknesses is difficult and throwing judgement on others is an act of protecting ourselves from, well ourselves. The more we tend to judge others the more secure we feel in accepting what we do not like about ourselves. I think my friend Jewels said it best when she said "It is easy to point out the weaknesses in others as we hide the weaknesses in ourselves." She told me that she thinks that some people try to make themselves look better by pointing out the faults of others. I guess I agree with her outlook on the blame game and why people play it. There is no good reason to stand in judgement of those around us, it is just a way of excusing our own faults.
LUKE 18:9-14
Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
"Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity --
greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
"Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity --
greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
If you believe in God and the eternity he offers us when we experience our last breath of life on earth, you most certainly must believe that only HE stands in judgement of each of us. It is not for us to judge how others live their lives. When our judgement day arrives we alone will stand before God and be judged on the life we lived. There will be no one standing next to us to compare ourselves too. We will not be judged on how others live. We cannot point fingers in blame, we cannot point out the weaknesses of others or the strengths of ourselves. Entry into God's Kingdom and the speed at which we arrive there will be based on how we lived God's Word while we walked on earth.
Mathew 7 : "Judge not, that ye be not judged."
Romans 12:19 : "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."
Do not judge the sins and shortcomings of others for you also have sinned and you also have shortcomings. Worry about yourself and to your own self be true. Father Tom once lectured on The Book of Matthew, telling us that a man who steals the newspaper thrown on his lawn in error is no less of a sinner then the man who steals his neighbor's wife's heart. The sins appear different but both are wrong and both are of equal value in the eyes of God.
Do not seek revenge when you have been done wrong. Do not waste your energy on 'getting even' for on judgement day God knows, and God has kept score. Your energy is better spent working on a better you, fixing what you can, moving on from what you cannot fix. You take care of yourself and let God take care of those around you. Forgive those that have sinned against you and throw the need for justice out. Put your troubles and worries in God's hands and let others deal with God and his plan for them on their own.
