Revolution Reality

These past few weeks have been … just different.  I feel I’m learning more now than I have in a while — and school has nothing to do with it.  I’ll just run down a few things I’ve been going through lately.

Someone told me something about how things were going with them, and I shared some of what going on with me.  I learned something though that conversation though, and that is that sometimes what we see in others really isn’t bad, but rather good — even when it appears horrible or hopeless.  I have no idea where God has them or me.  He may have me somewhere all alone for many years, yet if I were to pass that time up and run after my own desires nothing that God had for me to do could be accomplished (or it could, it would just probably take a lot longer and a lot more heartache).  Strangely enough, I’ve been thinking about this for the past few days and was awakened at 6:19 (I set my alarm clock weird) by a radio program, which I don’t regularly listen to (time: obviously). The speaker was talking about Joseph and how the time he had been in prison helped build his character. On another note, he mentioned he didn’t complain either. I may have missed the entire point he was trying to make (as I only heard around five minutes of it), but that was just what I needed to hear. That said, I’ve heard it before already at my church …

I said school wasn’t one, but it’s strange because three of my classes are all different, yet they’re all talking about the same thing in different ways (sometimes).  The thing I am picking up most is the economic side of things, which is quite interesting.  This is just a side note though…

Basically everything I’ve listened to lately all agrees with each other (all they all come from all over the place). I watched a movie last night that taught me a lot about how to live life – selfless. There’s just a lot of things that just been going on, and I’m just praying that I stop trying to figure it all out, and just step back and let God do what he wants to do. The more knowledge I have, the more useless I am – if that’s all I have. The more I try to figure things out, the more I see there are some things that aren’t meant to be figured out by my own human wisdom. It’s frustrating sometimes, no doubt, but it’s the only way to go. As much as I wish I’m over all of what I’ve been hearing, I’m not. So, I’m learning …

The American Heritage Dictionary states that criticism is “a critical comment or judgment” and it is “the act of criticizing, especially adversely” (Answers.com). So perhaps I’m an expert on criticism. It’s great being able to look at something or someone and point out all of its flaws. How much harder it is to actually point out its unique beauty and character?

Several days ago I was listening to someone speak on fasting, and some of the things you can fast from (because fasting can also mean “a period of refrain”). While I wasn’t as focused on what exactly was being said, I found something that stuck out to me: you can refrain from criticism for a period of time. Now, I love to point out people’s flaws so refraining from criticism can’t be easy. I mean, look at how people park in a parking lot! Just plain bad sometimes. But what if there was a reason for it? Sure, the parking may still be bad, but what if the reason they parked so “bad” was because of some external reason, say perhaps there was a buggy in their way?

I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately and I’ve started just telling myself “don’t criticize” when I feel so inclined to do so. I’m good at judging people before I know them a lot of times. I don’t know exactly why I feel inclined to point out others faults, especially when I’m no better than they are, sometimes more so than others. I remember a few days ago when I said something about how someone could be put in jail for a specific action they did – all the while not thinking that I could be found guilty of the same thing. When I look at people, I no longer what to think or see the “wrong” they may be in. I want to love them. Love never fails.

So this is what I’ve been learning lately. I’m not near the end of the tunnel, and I don’t see myself as “fasting” criticism, but rather trying to escape it. How can I really judge others, condemning them, while I myself am just as guilty of the same sins they are? Jesus said that if we lust after someone we’ve already committed adultery in our hearts. In the same way, if I judge someone for doing something that I have only acted upon in my mind, how much different is it? I committed the same sin, yet I judge the other person for acting upon it. I don’t ever want to do that, yet I have before and I still do. I think it’s something that we as a body of believers should long to be free of, not just because it may be a “noble” thing to do, but because it’s the Biblical thing to do.