Thursday; March 11

Have you noticed how easy it is to criticize other people’s decisions? This really struck me the other day when a couple of states made the decision to either remove mask mandates or merely let them expire. Folks, people came out of the woodwork from all over the country criticizing those who made the decisions! I am sure that each one of us has our own personal beliefs about mask-wearing, but do we have the right to criticize what someone else believes – especially someone who lives halfway across the county in much different circumstances than ours? While I would like to believe this is a modern day COVID problem, but I know that it isn’t. Being a busybody knows no region or era. It has been around from the beginning of mankind and it continues to go strong today. It isn’t relegated to any one gender, location, occupation or stage of life. We are all good at sticking our nose in other people’s business. Again, I have no issue with having different opinions, but when we start criticizing what others say or condemn them for what they think, we run the risk of division and disunity. While this is a moral issue, there can also be unintended consequences. You see, when we criticize others, we give them license to criticize us. Jesus described human nature when He observed, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2). Again, I am not saying we shouldn’t have opinions, what we need to do is be cautious with when, how and why we are critical.
My Mom had a great saying, “We should all tend to our own knitting.”. When we do, we will not only get along better with people, we will also be more focused on doing a better job with the tasks we have at hand.
Think About It!

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