Whether it is politics and how we respond or how someone looks or acts or behaves. Whether it is those that don't measure up to our standards or irritate the daylights out of us at every turn, we point our fingers at them. Whether it is those that don't believe like we do and we feel are lost or those that share differing opinions, we point our fingers at them.
Sharing things online...
It is easy to point your finger at others while declaring you know all and have all the answers. It may be labels that you use towards one another, or how you think they are so lost and will never see the light of day. It may be the way you share things online that become nothing more than pointing your finger at another person.
While skepticism and disagreement can be healthy, we have gotten to the point these days that we hold on to a mentality of "you are either with us or against us". There is no happy medium. There is no middle ground. It is either one way or no way. If you need evidence of that, just spend 5 minutes on Facebook or Twitter and it should become quite clear.
We don't listen to others...
We don't welcome the opinions of others although we often claim we do. We don't listen to others like we think we actually do. We are too busy telling others how to think, what to do, how to believe, and which thing they should follow. We are too busy telling people the solution to their problem that we don't even bother to listen to their problem first and understand it.
I grew up in a church and a home where we criticized everyone that didn't think the way we thought. If they believed differently in our church, they were going to hell. If they didn't do things and act the way we thought, they were just wrong. There was no adherence to understanding or tolerance. We sought out people and churches and organizations that made it okay to point the fingers at others. That was how our family operated.
Disgust, rather than listening...
Our society is the same way. Every day, too many look at others with disgust, rather than sitting down and listening. We rant and rave and scream how stupid or idiotic others are. If we don't do it online by our shares and likes, it is often in our private thoughts.
How strong will our civilization and world be if we continue down this path? How much do we really care for others, if all we can do it focus on the things that we cannot stand about each other? What does it truly say about how we see ourselves, if all we can see are the perceived faults and deficiencies in one another?
The government cannot change it. Our leaders and ministers can't change this. This is something that each one of us needs to search our hearts and really open our eyes to what we do. It is something that not everyone else needs to change, but each one of us individually. If you think it is everyone else that has the problem, it is within your own heart that you need to change first.
I'm no different. I try to accept everyone, but there are those that are screaming at the top of their lungs that can make me cringe. I want to point my finger at them and say, "how dare you?" How can you say these things. Yet, if I expect them to listen to me, then I need to be able to listen to them without judgment and condemnation.
It isn't easy. If you think it is, find the person that irritates you the most and see if you can sit with them for a day and not condemn or judge them. I don't mean, play like you can, but really go deep within your own soul and don't point your finger at them.
Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly
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