Judging others

When we observe the things people do or have done, we need to remember that these are fruit. Another way of saying this is that everything we do or say is the consequence of our experiences and beliefs, even unrecognized. Experiences, thoughts, and things learned will influence and direct our actions and choices.  So instead of seeing someone and judging them, especially if they are different than us or different from what we find acceptable, we ought to ask the question (to ourselves), “What has influenced and motivated them to embrace such action?”

Far too often, we know little to nothing of people and therefore we have no ground upon which to stand in judging another.  It is not our place to judge someone, especially since we do not know them in any depth. Better, instead, is to assume the best and love that person anyway.

The problem with experience

Do we dare appeal to experience to define and concretize our belief?  Do we dare appeal to experience to define the foundation of our reality?  What then when someone appeals to an experience that promotes that which is contrary to our own belief?  Answer: we must appeal to the concrete and objective teachings of the church, not our experience within that structure.
We cannot claim to appeal to experience and then when someone else appeals to a differing experience then appeal to the objective teaching of the church.  We also cannot appeal to “relationship” for our relationship with God is unlike any other relationship.  We speak to him, he does not speak in return in the way that any other relation would.  He speaks through the liturgy, through the Bible, and through the sacraments.  We may “feel” something when we are involved in private prayer, but this cannot be appealed to as authoritative or validating, for our feelings may not be what they seem.
As natural and as easy as it may be to live by, be encouraged by and enjoy an experience, we cannot look to experience for a foundation.  Our only foundation is the objective body of Christ, as seen, touched, tasted, smelled and heard in the local church.

Choosing hell, part 2

If you choose to live a lifestyle that moves you away from God and what he considers holy and good, you are free to choose to do that. He won’t stop you.  But at the end of time, when you enter eternity, you cannot complain that you do not get to spend eternity in his presence, for you have spent your lifetime rejecting exactly that.

What church?

What defines a “Christian” church?  There are foundational doctrines and secondary ones.  I think all would agree that the secondary ones are not part of this consideration.  First, who decides what is foundational?  There are multiple thousands of “Christian” denominations in the US right now, many of them solo with no oversight other than the single person that created them.  The common mentality seems to be that anyone can take the label “Christian” upon themselves which in turn gives them the right to interpret the Bible for themselves.
When we give a definition of “church”, from where are we sourcing that definition?  In Protestant and Evangelical circles, the claim is that the definition comes from the Bible. Yet there are multiple definitions, all with the same claim of origin.  But only one can be right, or they are all wrong. This circles back around to the practice of personal interpretation.

This is one strength of the Orthodox church.  We can look back and say, "this is what the church has always believed and always practiced. This is how the church has always worshiped."  In short, we can say, the church is what the body of Christ has always believed the church to be.

Being bothered

How often, when out among other people, or when alone but thinking about previous situations wherein we interacted with others, are we bothered or annoyed by that interaction? Unfortunately, this happens far too often. I speak from experience. In our interactions with others, we tend to compare the reality of the current situation with what we believe the situation ought to be. In other words, other people's words or actions do not meet up with our expectations or preferences.
But what is really going on here? I would venture to argue that we are setting ourselves up as judges of others. We are taking our interpretation of reality and are judging the actions of others by that interpretation. But are we right in doing so? Is it our place to judge anyone? I would argue, no.
The first thing that we must acknowledge is our own limitations. We know so little. We have so little actual experience and besides knowing very little about others, we hardly know ourselves. In other words, our knowledge base is far too small to adequately assess the actions or intentions of others.
Sure, we may guess as to others motivations, based on previous interaction with them, and often we may be correct but this still does not justify our self appointed role as judge.
And honestly speaking, most times that we judge, condemn or speak ill of others, we do so simply because they are inconveniencing us. We don't like what they are doing because it puts us at a disadvantage or forces us to change our plans. In short, we are selfish. And the worse part is, that in being selfish, we are asserting that our plans and desires are best. But considering our own limitations, this is highly unlikely.
It really comes down to loving God and loving neighbor. Do we trust God to work out all things according to his will or are we determined to manipulate reality according to our own desires, regardless of how this affects others?