Ramblings

Eh, this is pretty much a blog about nothing. I hate rambling, but at the same time, rambling about stuff makes me feel better. I think the biggest thing on my mind tonight is judgment.

I went to Memphis for a bit tonight to take some of my dorm stuff home. My parents and I talked a little bit about different things, and my dad made a comment about one of my friends. It really bothered me that he would say it, and while he's kidding (well half kidding), I hate when he says stuff like that. Not just him though, lots of people make comments like he does.

It's not just this one friend in particular either. I've had many friends who've been spoken about in not the best way. It happens. But there's one thing that's still the same...they're my friends. And they're still people. They're human beings.

When did we get off thinking that we can just pass judgment on whoever we want? I understand that we don't always see eye to eye on every subject, and that we might disagree on different views, but what right does that give you to judge someone? I don't agree with everything my friend does, but she is still my friend, and besides that, she's still a person. She's still a living, breathing creature that needs to be loved just like anyone else. Who I am to deny her that love just because I don't agree with everything she does? Love the sinner, hate the sin, right? I constantly think back to what Jesus did back in His day...He associated with people that the rest of the religious sector would never dream of dealing with, and Jesus was looked down upon because of it, but think about the difference He made in those peoples' lives. They were judged and rejected and looked down upon by everyone around them, yet here comes someone who loves them for them, and as a result, want to change because someone actually cares about them--not just trying to change them.

I feel like that's such a fault in Christianity these days. If we even take the time to do more than just pass judgment on people, we focus on how we can change them to what we believe they need to be like. We never take time to invest in their lives, and meet them where they are, or even take time to meet their physical and emotional needs first. Christians just have a tunnel vision of sorts. They see something that needs to be changed, and they feel that's the most important thing. I have to disagree. I hate people who just try to start talking to other people about God and stuff without taking time to even get to know them. It's because they don't really care about the person--they're merely trying to mark them off their check-list of what they feel is what God expects. I disagree with this too. I believe that God is a compassionate, deeply empathic God, and that He understands that sometimes we have to be met in our other needs before we will listen to spiritual matters.

I don't know. That's just me. That's why I get so upset when people pass judgment--Christians especially--on other people just because they don't follow exactly the specific guidelines that are set by the church or whoever. They get so hung up on rules and whatnot that they fail to see the human who is hurting and desperately needing help on the other end. It makes my blood boil sometimes.

Is it really that hard to love people for who they are? Chances are, they'll be more willing to listen to what you have to say if you show you actually care about them in the first place. Just my thoughts.

-Fingernail out