I remember that there was a time when I loved people so much, regardless of how they felt about me. I had made it my personal, spiritual goal to treat others with the same dignity and respect that I would hope to receive. It is amazing that the older I get, the more I understand the importance of expressing love for our neighbors and family. It equally amazes me that it is so much more difficult now to love people without judging their character flaws, and even just being mean to them. Every time that I criticize someone blatantly and out loud, I am filled almost immediately with remorse.
As we get older we are so set in our was that we respond to particular subjects or people. We are not expressing our thoughts with a narrow mind necessarily, but in stead we habitually say the things that hurt people the most simply because we are annoyed, or our day isn't going as planned. A sharp tongue is a wicked tool that should not be taken lightly.
There are always two sides to every thought. After we lash out at people, we have a decision to make. Do we apologize for our actions? Or do we spend our time wondering why we didn't, leaving that relationship strained or broken. The same mouths that we use to hurt people, we can also use for healing. An apology is a powerful thing, but the ultimate goal is to never have to give one.
If we only search for the flaws in others, then that is all we will ever see. If we dig in and truly control our lack of understanding, then we can easily find just how beautiful people are.
Sometimes we are called to point out to someone something they may not be thinking clear on but, we are only called to do this for those we truly care about, those who would trust what you say as being said in love. Always in love.
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