Good Stuff

May 9, 2008 at 8:50 am | Posted in Thoughts | 14 Comments
Tags: Quotes

So, you know you have a cool pastor when he Twitters.

Yep, I follow mine. He always has such great things to say and sometimes he even posts the best ones on his blog. I was reading through the other day when I saw one that hit me.

“People are not cruel, they are just wounded.”

Sometimes things that seem so simple really are the most complex. Yes, that really is true.

That lady who cut me off in traffic, something went so wrong for her this morning that she is in a huge hurry. Maybe she had to leave her newborn for the first time and has tears in her eyes and is just trying to make it to work.

Who am I to judge?

That person who won’t return my emails? It really is most likely nothing personal, they are obviously in their own personal hell and trying to scratch out.  They will let me know when they need me.

Who am I to judge?

That friend who made a comment that hurt my feelings. They were just taking it out on me because they knew they could trust me and they were acting on someone doing them wrong. Heaven knows I have done that to my inner circle time and time again.

Who am I to judge?

I am trying to make every effort to really look at people and see their circumstances and their heart before I jump to conclusions about them. We never know where people are coming from or where they have been. Most likely, it was not a good place and even though they come off hard and cruel, there is always something else there. Some underlying issue that is keeping them from opening up. It is easier to strike at people when you are down as part of a defense mechanism. It is easier to lash out and try to protect yourself for fear that there is more pain to be experienced.

I tend to write people off and not put forth the effort when they act rude and hurtful, but I am going to make an effort to get to the heart of it and see what is inside.

I would, after all, want someone to give me that chance.

Wouldn’t you?