Friday, December 3, 2010
I was blind but now I see
Don't you just hate it when you are complaining about something someone is doing and then suddenly realize - "Hey wait a minute, that's exactly what I am doing now." OUCH!! *sigh* ~ I am guilty as charged. Those "beams in my eye" sure are blinding! I've been rather harsh and judgemental lately, and realized yesterday that in doing so, I am not forgiving others of their mistakes and weaknesses. I am so grateful for the gift of repentance and the ability to be forgiven; how can I deny that to others? It isn't my place to judge them; it is my place to love them. If they are doing something that bothers me, complaining about it doesn't change anything. Focusing all of my energy and emotion on what I don't want, just gets me more of what I don't want. I need to follow the advice of Ghandi ~ "be the change that you want to see..." I need to spend my energy and emotion focusing on their good qualities and let God worry about their faults and weaknesses. Pulling out those "beams" leaves a big, gaping hole that hurts and sometimes takes a long time to heal (just like getting those HUGE wisdom teeth pulled!), but in the end I will be able to see more clearly. It is hard, but definitely worth it.
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So true it hurts...literally! I am having this problem myself in our new community. I am having to learn to accept them as they are, even when it irritates me to no end. I'm having to define the difference between things that are right to stand up for and things that are nit-picky. The nit-picky I have to let go of, but the things that are blatantly wrong (or sinful) I do need to stand up for those things. (Example: The teachers playing Halo for scouts. Yea, I gotta say something about that).
ReplyDeleteOh, dang! You totally pricked my conscience, Miss Toni! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI need to love more... Definitely... {{{hugs}}}