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Lately, in the context of trying to live a more Christly life, I've been examining more closely how I view my fellow man. There certainly seems to be an abundance of sin in the world, and people in all walks of life who have attached themselves to it and made it their own. But passing judgment on others is tricky business. Jesus laid down the rules when he said:
Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
The Master also provided these admonishments in his Sermon on the Mount on how we should treat our brothers:
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire....But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven:
And for emphasis, James reminded us:
However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law, but falls short in one particular, has become guilty in respect to all of it....What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
By following more closely, I've begun to change my views and reactions from judging and accusing to loving and understanding. For instance, I'm trying to no longer see people as hopeless criminals or sick and miserable, but rather to recognize them as fellow brothers and sisters, children of God, who are acting under the spell of some worldly lie.
God's will didn't make some people criminals, and others sick and miserable, so as his infinite reflection, I have no authority to see them in this way either. I'm trying to see with purer eyes, that we are all children of God, but at times we are all tempted to sin, turn away, and fall under some worldly spell. The key to healing is to realize that these worldly troubles, crime, misery, disease, etc. are not the truth about God's perfect image, but rather a conflicting mixture of our human, corporeal illusions which need to be negated through the eyes of love.
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