Since THAT clearly did Not work...

I'll simply touch on that subject later. Today let's talk about people. And seeing them. And thinking about them. And judging them.

You know, since we all do it in some way or another. I know I do, anyways. My guess is that you do too...

Because, you see, not everyone is perfect. And only God, in His perfect judgement, can tell what is or isn't perfect. But then Eve had to go listen to the serpent, and Adam stood by, watched, and partook... And now we all think we can judge good from evil. Go figure.

We've heard "judge not, lest ye be judged," right? Well, if you haven't now you have. It's a verse in Matthew 7, I do believe. And we get the basics of it. If you judge someone, so God will judge you.. But have you ever really thought about it? What's that supposed to even mean? After all, God is going to judge everybody anyways. What difference does it make whether you judge or not?

The origin of Judge isn't actually to condemn someone. It's really, simply, to form an opinion of someone.
Meaning, when you look at someone and decide they are annoying and talk too much, you're judging them. (You: right, that's sort of obvious.)

Yeah but see, it's Your Opinion. About someone you barely know. But I'm not going to rant about that. I'm sure you've heard it all before. Omg how could you you don't know them or what they've been through etc...  Actually, what I'm about to do could, I suppose, be considered me judging You. Except in doing so I'm totally judging me too... Eh. Moving on

What you see in others is what you will likely ignore in yourself.

You know the phrase "Takes one to know one."? Yeah it's totally true. If you think you talk too much, for instance (Which, I think I talk too much. So this is a personal example) it makes you very, very conscious of others who talk. Therefore, people who talk as much as you do, or more than you do, are automatically deemed to talk too much.

But see, there's nothing wrong with talking... I find it annoying because, when I was younger, I talked a lot, and I knew a lot of things (Like... All of the answers.) and was accordingly told I talked too much, and asked (Not usually very politely) to shut up, which in turn trained me to notice when people are talking "too much." "Too much" is merely a concept defined by my past experiences, but because of that hurt, and that definition, I have struggled with people who talk "too much," and amd still struggling to not hate myself for talking "too much."

That all sounded like a really long sob story, but it wasn't. It is merely an example. A lot of people I know that are, for instance, homophobes, tend to be straight people who were teased about being gay. People who have trust issues are usually people who have problems being straightforward and honest themselves.

You see what you know. If you don't know a trait so personally, you're way less likely to see it, and since there are so many things you do know personally you are almost guaranteed not to notice the issues you do not yourself have.

The people who hate the ones who simply get everything are usually the people who believe themselves to be more deserving.

So now that we are aware of, well, awareness I suppose.... Now what?
The most obvious, and simu,taneously the most wrong answer, is to focus on yourself and fixing yourself.

You can spend HOURS and HOURS and DAYS and MONTHS and ENTIRE SEASONS focusing on fixing yourself, and what's wrong with you, and in the end you'll be just as bad, if not worse, and in a heck of a lot of pain.

Rememebr how often I bring it back to who you are, and how God loves you, and how God is in You, etc?
Now is a really good time to put that into action.

Instead of focusing on other people's faults and thereby simultaneously ignoring and furthering our own, the clear opposite is to focus on who God calls us, and who God calls others. On the earth, it is soooo easyyyy to see all the problems. People get hurt, and therefore retaliate and get mad. Nothing is perfect, so people complain. People want to get away with things, so they lie. People want to feel safe, so they control. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. You can see that anywhere. But as a human, we are not of this world. Even more specifically, as someone accepted into the beloved of God, we are not of this kingdom.

This isn't forever. Focusing on the problems here is like focusing on an M'n M. You can know everything about it, down to exactly what shade of red it is, and what the milk-coco ratio is, but once it's been eaten that's it. You cannot do anything with it. You can have a candle, but once it's burnt out it's gone. You're stuck in the dark and empty handed (And possibly burnt, if you were holding the candle.)

... I like that scenario, actually.

The world is like a dark room. If you have a candle (Or are following someone else who has one) you can see arrows on the ground telling you where to go. But if you have no candle, you can see the exit. You can see the world outside the cave. And it's opposite of where the directions in the candle-light tell you to go.

And there is a time, for everyone, where you will die. And when you die, you want to be living in the light and the world to come as if it has already come, instead of focusing on your candle and where its light says to go. Make sense?

(You: How the heck is this related to judging?) Because by judging others, you are making them a candle. By focusing on yourself, you are making yourself a candle. You are your own light. The Only Truth is to focus on God... God, who is Love, Love, with is patient, kind, and Does Not Judge (Or fail or give up, etc.) See my point?

If you don't get it, tell me what was fuzzy, and if this strikes a wrong (Or a right..) chord in you, tell me about it. I really want to know.

Till next time!

~Silver