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.

Sin is sin

The title seems to be one of those things that kind of goes without saying, but I do have a specific point herein.  When we read the newspaper, when we hear from someone else about this or that "sin" or "crime", we really shouldn't be surprised.  People sin, people commit crimes and, unfortunately, doing so is typical.  Our fallen nature has turned us into selfish creatures.  And even worse, we are quick to judge and condemn others for their sins and crimes, but we are also quick to excuse or explain away our own sins.
When we hear of someone else's sins, our first response should not be "oh, what a horrible person", but rather, "oh yeah, I have sins in my own life that are uncomfortably similar to that." If we would only have as much grace and forgiveness with others that we would like to have for ourselves.

Two Paths

What to do? There are two paths.  The path of self-service and the Christian path.  One can either follow Jesus Christ or be one’s own god.

But within the Christian path there are two lines, the monastic and the lay.  Obviously, I am not a monastic, but the question of how to apply monastic advice/guidance to the lay life is glaring.  Because I am a layman, I am responsible to care for my family. But at what cost?  Do I really need to immerse myself in earning enough money? Who defines “enough”?  What comfort level is acceptable/appropriate? 

There are questions to answer and decisions to be made that may be irreversible (bridges burned, if you will).  How realistic (Orthodox) is idealism?  Does one pursue the “right thing” even when no one else seems to be doing so?  How does the fact that we, as human, are painfully limited in our knowledge and understanding of reality affect the huge decisions that must be made?  It seems that most follow the “sensible” path (i.e., easy/American).  When one steps back and looks at it all, it seems most likely that one will make the wrong choice.  If there are ten possible good paths to take, but 1000 wrong ones, the odds are against us.  Especially when “the world, the flesh and the devil” are against us, pushing us toward the wrong paths.

Even more so, by what criteria are we to judge the fruit of our actions?  The other thing is to determine if we are even setting good/right/Christian goals.  It’s easy to throw around platitudes and truisms in response, but these are really not that helpful, as they give no specific direction.

The most beautiful day and location mean nothing is someone is punching you in the stomach.

What happens when, looking back, you have formed your psyche and personality, to not fit in or “click” with others?  Built on idealism.