Today, my
thoughts are filled with the incredible tension that exists in society
today. I wonder if that tension is what
gives rise to the terrible “cancel culture” that’s developed, where we judge
our fellow humans based on the one worst thing that they have ever said or
done, without ever first considering our own flaws. It’s so easy to get discouraged by this
because we all have faults. I wouldn’t
want to be judged by my fellow humans on the one worst thing I’ve ever said,
and I’d bet a million dollars that you probably wouldn’t either. It’s because our humanity is the sum-total of
our works, and any judgement of that comes not in this life, but in the next.
In Luke’s
Gospel, Jesus poses the question: “Can a blind person guide
a blind person?” (Luke 6:39-42) The answer, of course, is no! As human beings, we’re far too blinded by our
own shortcomings to be able to sit in judgement of others. But, like many things, it’s easier said than
done. After all, so many things can get
in the way. Traits of our humanity, such
as ego, implicit bias, a fear of being revealed as imperfect; these can all
obscure our view of the world, and it has all led to the many societal
injustices that have plagued mankind since mankind was able to keep track of
societal injustices.
Jesus
answered his question about the blind leading the blind by declaring that “no
student is superior to the teacher”. Rather, Jesus said that “when
fully trained every disciple will be like his teacher.”
We build up humanity not by judging others, but by striving for the
model that Jesus provides. And when we
take a greater interest in our own journey toward that ideal, and when we
remove that plank from our own eye one splinter at a time, that’s when we’re
more able to lift each other up for the greater good.
It's
definitely not comfortable or even easy, but we need to learn to embrace each
other, ugly faults and all, and get to the work at hand, which is love,
understanding, and mercy.
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