I'll forewarn you, this blog post is a little bit of a rant on something that just grates on my nerves. As always, I do try to write with a point that hopefully when you're done reading this, it may help see something a little differently. At least, that's the goal. So bear with me through this one. Sometimes I just have to get on my soapbox!
Let me tell you how wrong you are!
- Don't believe me? Take a look at online social media, especially when it comes to politics. Those that support a candidate view all others as stupid, broken, ill-informed, or uninformed. No, this is not meant as a political discussion either.
- Don't believe me? Take a look at many of the religious postings in online social media. Unless you believe like they do, they will not even talk to you. They won't discuss things with you because it is their way or no way. No, this is not meant as a religious discussion either.
My Recent Experience
In fact, I just had an experience the other day that proved this without doubt. I was traveling. The rental car company gave me a very big vehicle to drive. I had no choice to take the car they gave me because of the way I rented it. If I wouldn't have taken this car, I would have paid a lot more money.
Anyway, I'm driving to find something to eat and parking was limited. Keep in mind, I am trying to get this vehicle in and out of a parking spot and that was not easy or comfortable for me. It made me quite nervous and anxious. My anxiety was extremely high. Sometimes I get animated when the anxiety is high.
After circling the parking lot several times, I stopped to regroup and figure out what I should do. Unfortunately I didn't realize for a minute or two that I was blocking a lady trying to back out of a parking space. It was inadvertent. The moment I realized what I had done, I moved from the spot I was in.
When I parked the vehicle, another lady came up and rolled down her window. Apparently the person that I had inadvertently blocked in the parking spot, was her daughter. She started out telling me how I needed to be more "CHRISTIAN". I'm not even sure where that came from because it wasn't like I self-identified with that in any way. It didn't matter when I tried to explain to her what had happened, she had already judged me to be this horrible person that got mad at her daughter and blocked her in.
We exchanged words and I gave her an earful back. I normally don't do that, but this lady instigated this and would not stop. She had to be right. She had to tell me how wrong I was. There was no backing down and somehow she was a holier-than-thou type of person telling me to be a better Christian.
When I walked away from her after I stood up for myself, I felt like someone had just covered me with icky slime. I felt like I needed to take a shower to wash off all the evil junk she spewed at me. I'm sure she went to her next prayer meeting and told everyone the story or at least her version of how awful a human being I was.
When we have the attitude of...
When we have the attitude of "let me tell you how wrong you are", we have lowered our self from the status of human into the status of something less than. Thinking that we know it all and we can judge another person, does not even rise to an enlightened or spiritual person.
Later, after I brushed off what this lady did to me, I could not help but think that what if I had just had some horrible news that day or maybe I realized it was my last few days to live. Would she have treated me differently, or was she so self-absorbed that she wouldn't have cared. My point is, we never know what another is going through and to judge others and act this way to other people, could be very hazardous to their health and well-being.
This was not love that she showed. If she was a christian, she maybe misunderstood the concept of love and judgment. Unfortunately, it isn't this person only in situations like this. It is far too prevalent in the world and something NO ONE should be proud of or endorse. Yet, we all do!
So that is my soapbox. I could have done without this event that day, but my greater point is that we need to stop and see others with love, not judgment. It is not our place to cast judgment on others and tell them how wrong they are. In fact, more times than not, we need to take an inventory in our own life of what we need to work on.
Here's another blog post that talks about judging others and makes some good points. Click the image below to read the blog post, Before You Judge Me.
Let me know if you have been judged like this by others or if you do the same thing. I'd love to hear your comments below.
Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly
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