It took time for me to separate the person from the behaviour.
Do not mixed up compassion and forgiveness with absolution. Separating isn’t ignoring their morally bad behaviour; it’s defining the person by more than their actions.
Of course actions matter. And I believe our actions matter most - to us!
We all have good and evil; light and dark; within us. For with a twist of fate, it could have been me in MLC. I was fortunate and had great parents and a great upbringing. We are all fortunate. Hard to fairly judge someone else without walking their same path.
This is not the same as societal rules and laws. Those are laid out with punishments that would be forthcoming for violations. The laws we are speaking of are carved in stone. Judging requires wisdom well beyond that of man. And punishments similarly handed out with such wisdom.
I get it, we do judge, prejudge, others based upon their actions and past. It’s difficult to look at the big picture and realize just how big it really is, never mind actually trying to understand it. We only see a tiny slice of a person’s life, pain, love, experience, and so on; and then define them.
Look beyond. Look passed all that’s been written upon their once clean slate. See them. See their slate. See them and see what has been written so far. Perhaps you can see, and hope for, the possibility of something better being written upon their future. Would that change how we see them? Should it?
D
Feelings are fleeting. Be better, not bitter. Love the person, forgive the sin.
