I’m fully aware that as Christians we can sometimes come off as arrogant. And that may just be because some of us are. Some of us are intolerant and obnoxious because we are welcomed into the Kingdom of heaven, and we may even look down upon people who haven’t had the chance to. Scoffing at non-believers, in my opinion, is one of the most harmful things we can do to them yet sometimes it can be easy to turn up our noses at people.
I’ve always been a pretty sensitive person. When people cry, I cry. Yes, I’m that person. It’s something that I’ve grown to love about myself because it makes it easier for me to sympathise with people. I used to be quick to judge others, but “channelling” this sensitivity in a sense, made it ten times easier to give people the benefit of the doubt. I would condemn people for their flaws when really they aren’t just flaws. They may be battles.
This is a lesson I’ve learnt within the past few months. It came from me, oddly enough, finding sympathy… for a TV character. The classic unhinged drug addict, doing a lot of things wrong in life. At first, I was disgusted and upset that the character existed as a whole but then the show began to reveal her internal struggles: family issues I would have never guessed. This character who I was supposed to detest and find evil (according to my head), was someone I ended up being so severely sorry for. I felt genuine emotional pain on their behalf. Ever since I’ve replaced the judgment in my heart with sympathy.
A lot of the things people do is a result of internal struggle - for example, drug use. It can be a coping mechanism or a form of escapism. This is in no way a justification for sin but it helps me avoid condemning people.
A common misconception is that we are to hate sinners. Firstly, the Bible says on multiple different occasions that we are to hate the sin (not the sinner) as seen in Romans 12:9. We aren’t meant to glamorize or accept the sin. Not at all. But we shouldn't hate the sinner either.
All of us are sinners. We all stumble, like Romans 3:23-24 (NIV) says, “...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” However, those who accept Jesus as their LORD and Savior, are “justified freely by His grace”. Therefore we have no right to judge others. I once heard someone say “We all put our pants on the same way in the morning.” This humbles me and reminds me that we’re all made equal and I should manifest that in my everyday life.
Jesus Himself, the Chosen One, sat down with sinners. Mark 2:15 (NIV) says, “While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him." He defied the social norm and sat with sinners. Jesus should be our ultimate example, we should take after Him. We need to cast off all conceits and treat everyone with love and kindness finding it within ourselves to care.
Lastly, the verse that made me pursue this humility is Proverbs 6:16-19 (NIV). “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.” The very first on this list is haughty eyes. God sees our hearts and knows what we’re thinking. What would Jesus do?
Comments