Judging Others
by EUGENE LOH
How many wrongs does
it take to make obsolete a lifetime of rights?
The answer?
One.
This world is an unforgiving
one. The only sins we can even begin to forgive
are our own. It's
only too easy to pass judgement when you are not the one
on trial. We all
gather eagerly at the execution... each with a rock in
hand... thirsting
for the moment when the signal to throw is given.
Overwhelmed by our
own securities and sufferings, we hurl stones. We scream
for blood. We withdraw
our love. And conveniently forget the times when the
"accused" has touched
our lives in such positive ways.
It could be our spouse,
our parent, our child, our sibling, a friend. When
judging others, blood
ties do not count. We would just as easily cast our
own flesh and blood
in to a sea of fire as we would the vilest of foes.
It certainly is easy
to condemn, isn't it? To condemn someone for being of a
certain colour, a
certain lifestyle, a certain appearance, a certain
nationality, a certain
class, and so on. When we condemn others for being
who they are, it
is ourselves who are condemned. Condemned for embracing
love when it is given,
but who shun the one who gave it once he or she falls
from "grace".
One doesn't have to
have murdered a million Jews to be a Hitler. One only
has to have a judgemental
and unforgiving heart.
How many people have
we sent to the gallows with our words? How many lives
have we ruined with
our arrogance and selfishness? Many people are under the
illusion that they
are fit to judge, to chastise, to blame, to hate.
But there is no one
whose soul is unstained. Only our own stains are
infinitely harder
to see.
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