Pressurized People

I look around me and everywhere I see them - people blowing off steam because the pressure is more than the pot can bear. They do it on Dr. Phil, Maury and, definitely, Jerry Springer. They do it on the roads, in grocery stores, in the mall(look out Christmastime!) and have temper tantrums that their children would've got a spanking for 25 years ago. Some take it to the gym and run until the pressure is left panting on the floor, deflated. Some try really hard to transfer their pressure on to other people-especially in traffic! I know the moron (who REALLY wanted to go faster than me so I almost couldn't make my turn yesterday) hasn't hit the reading level yet whereby he might read this. Everyone makes mistakes when they drive-the insurance rates bear testimony. Getting angry never does any good and if it really "makes you feel better" then it is really hard to tell that the getting angry brought relief of any kind. My sister hit a deer once-two weeks after my dad and brother were killed in an auto accident-and people were yelling at her while she could only helplessly stand there and cry. Where is our humanity? Our demonstrations of all those negative emotions just tear us up. There has to come a time where we are more polite with each other, where we count to 10 before we talk, where we try to see the world through someone else's eyes or walk a mile in someone else's moccasins. I know that if the person who so rudely gave me the finger was looking me in the eye, it wouldn't happen. Its the freedom of being a rude uncaring person safe in their own little box that causes people to do things like that. I'm not going to change people but I have found a lovely little place down in Florida where life is lived much mellower and I will spend more time there as the years go by. Its too bad we're such hopeless cases.

Judging

I know that I judge things all the time. I am a people watcher and I look at the things people do, the way they dress, if they smoke or have children, how they behave-it all fascinates me and I do tend to put them in their "appropriate" boxes. On the other hand, if they wanted to talk to me or needed my help, all my presuppositions would melt away and I would definitely give them a fair chance to get to REALLY know them. Once I get to know someone I relate to them from my paradigm-being a Christian, I examine myself very closely and make sure I'm relating the love of Christ in whatever manner that I deal with my friends and family. I cannot write people off. Sometimes I do need to step back, let time pass and re-evaluate my relationship with some but I can never just GIVE UP on a person. I love every single person-even if they hurt me. I can say that with all sincerity because God loves them. He doesn't want a single soul to perish into everlasting punishment and I feel that as a follower of Jesus Christ and a person that has needed to be forgiven of many things, I cannot give up on anyone-even if I can judge that they have done bad things and they may or may not have asked for forgiveness. I have been challenged as to why I would be so magnanimous with someone that has hurt someone I know or how I can defend someone who has wronged me but, even though the charges levelled against that person may be accurate and the judgement is sound, I must disagree. My heart tells me that love and forgiveness must go hand-in-hand. I can judge these things, too but I want to win them over and I am in no position to condemn. "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone."