We all have choices to make in this life. Recently I have heard several comments along the lines of "Well, they chose this or that" as if because they chose something then we are free to judge.
For example the other day while driving I saw a homeless person staring off an overpass that we were on and I turned to the person next to me and made a comment about how sad it made me to see so many homeless in this town. He idle replied "well, they choose to be homeless, they could go get a job so it's their own fault. Don't let it get you down." This really struck me. Some people make poor choices that lead to their homelessness, but does this mean that we should not have compassion on them?
And not all homeless people are in that circumstance because of their own choices, but the choices of others. If someone is living paycheck to paycheck barely able to make enough to survive and then the company lays them off or goes out of business, then perhaps that person could become homeless. This was not because of any great wrong that the person committed, but in this economy jobs--even part time minimum wage jobs--are hard to come by. Try to imagine being homeless and filling out job applications and go to interviews--it would be incredibly difficult.
A recent news article I read was about a young woman who was killed and her body left stuffed under a mattress. I heard several rumors about her being into drugs. Many seemed to come to the conclusion that she was into drugs and therefore her murder was drug related and therefore it barely merited investigation. A comment was made on KSL that it seemed a fitting end for a druggie. I conclude that drug related or not, this is no fitting end for any human being. This commentator made a rash and heartless assumption with no real facts to back up such a claim. Not to mention what if this poor girls family were to read such a statement? Maybe she made poor choices, but none of us know what led her to do so. Not a single one of us can ultimately understand why she would choose such a lifestyle. But that does not mean that she is to be written off as just another druggie or that she deserved to be murdered at such a young age. She was a person who was loved by many and will be missed. Such circumstances also deserve compassion, not judgement.
I feel that regardless of if a person has made poor choices, that does not mean that it is my place to judge them. Whatever poor choices they have made is between them and God.
If we spent less time judging each other and more time trying to understand one another then I feel that there would be a lot more peace in the world. People would get along better.
Even if there is absolutely nothing you can do to better someone's situation, or if it honestly is a circumstance of their own poor choices, the very least we can do for one another is to have compassion and try to be understanding. After all, who knows when it will be me, or you that makes a poor choice, or a stupid mistake that leads to more than we anticipated it would.
For example the other day while driving I saw a homeless person staring off an overpass that we were on and I turned to the person next to me and made a comment about how sad it made me to see so many homeless in this town. He idle replied "well, they choose to be homeless, they could go get a job so it's their own fault. Don't let it get you down." This really struck me. Some people make poor choices that lead to their homelessness, but does this mean that we should not have compassion on them?
And not all homeless people are in that circumstance because of their own choices, but the choices of others. If someone is living paycheck to paycheck barely able to make enough to survive and then the company lays them off or goes out of business, then perhaps that person could become homeless. This was not because of any great wrong that the person committed, but in this economy jobs--even part time minimum wage jobs--are hard to come by. Try to imagine being homeless and filling out job applications and go to interviews--it would be incredibly difficult.
A recent news article I read was about a young woman who was killed and her body left stuffed under a mattress. I heard several rumors about her being into drugs. Many seemed to come to the conclusion that she was into drugs and therefore her murder was drug related and therefore it barely merited investigation. A comment was made on KSL that it seemed a fitting end for a druggie. I conclude that drug related or not, this is no fitting end for any human being. This commentator made a rash and heartless assumption with no real facts to back up such a claim. Not to mention what if this poor girls family were to read such a statement? Maybe she made poor choices, but none of us know what led her to do so. Not a single one of us can ultimately understand why she would choose such a lifestyle. But that does not mean that she is to be written off as just another druggie or that she deserved to be murdered at such a young age. She was a person who was loved by many and will be missed. Such circumstances also deserve compassion, not judgement.
I feel that regardless of if a person has made poor choices, that does not mean that it is my place to judge them. Whatever poor choices they have made is between them and God.
If we spent less time judging each other and more time trying to understand one another then I feel that there would be a lot more peace in the world. People would get along better.
Even if there is absolutely nothing you can do to better someone's situation, or if it honestly is a circumstance of their own poor choices, the very least we can do for one another is to have compassion and try to be understanding. After all, who knows when it will be me, or you that makes a poor choice, or a stupid mistake that leads to more than we anticipated it would.
1 comment:
I totally agree with you.
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