Not Judging in a Judgemental Society

 Earth.  What do you think of when you hear someone speak of this planet?  Life comes to mind.  Earth is a deceiving place.  Ever see pictures taken from the space ships by the individuals lucky enough to see our world from an entirely different perspective?  The pictures are beautiful.  They beckon to you to come see this wonderful world.  Then you get out of the clouds and get your feet back on the ground and you see what our reality is really like. More and more our planet is suffering from too many different kinds of abuse.  The planet itself is not being cared for as it should and the way we treat each other is appauling.

When Jesus was born, he was born into a much different world.  Granted, there were still many types of corruption about, but not to the extreme we face today.  Negativity is all around us.  It is very difficult at times to sit back and try to keep a positive attitude when the news is bombarding us with stories of child abuse, murder, war and all of the other reprehensible activities going on in our society today.  Those things went on in ancient times as well, but our world has become consumed with so many things that feed negative energy and continue to attract what is wrong with the world. 

Jesus taught not to judge.  We are human beings and we are not perfect.  But we can still try to be the best, most caring people we can be by realizing that most people are doing the very best they can.  No one is better than someone else.  Jesus knew this and he preached and taught the most fundamental positive messages to everyone who would listen and take note of what he was saying.  Jesus loved humanity.  He died on the cross so that humanity would be forgiven of sin.  He made the ultimate sacrifice.  Many people today are not Christians.  Many people do not believe in any higher power.  Jesus would say that is ok.  Why?  Because he treated all people with respect.  He preached equality, fairness, love, and all of the other positive aspects that make us human. 

There is a war going on.  We have crazy people running around and perverting a different religion that while Christians in general don't understand very well.  But before you start judging a religion you do not understand, ask yourself, "What would Jesus do?"  Jesus was Jewish, after all.  He traveled far and wide, he met people of many different religions in his day.  I think it is extremely unfair and unkind to group a people of a whole religion together because a few have chosen to take it out of context.  I am of course speaking about the Muslim religion.  I am not muslim, but I have talked to many individuals who follow the religion and they all say the same thing.  The terrorists are twisting the religion to justify hurting other human beings. 

We are all human and we all make mistakes, but before you judge someone you do not understand, try asking them to explain their beliefs to you so that you can understand.  You may make a friend.  How would you feel if you had to live in fear because everytime you were out in public people looked at you like they were angry or fearful of you and you were a lawbiding citizen?  It is unkind.  The muslim religion preaches peace and love.  It is different and while I do not agree with all the views of this religion, it is not an "evil" religion.  The core of the religion is positive.  Most religions are based on positive messages.  Hate is a bad thing and to feed it when there are so many negative things going on in the world is a crime all by itself.  People get hurt way too often because of hate. 

Jesus did not hate.  He believed in balance and equality.  The beggar was no less important than the pharisee, in his eyes, which ultimately lead to his murder.  But Jesus knew his path in life.  It was clear.  The pain he suffered was to rid humanity of sin, the ultimate forgiveness of cruelty by suffering through the cruelest act of the day.  In his blood, shed on the cross, the pain he endured, was all for his unconditional love for humanity. 

It is difficult not to judge others especially when we live in such a shallow and judgemental society today.  People are judged on everything from what they say to how they dress to the amount of money they make and so on.  What makes one person better than another?  Nothing.  We all breathe, we all bleed, we all feel.  So while many may prefer to think they are better than others or may look more like monsters than human beings, the best thing we can do is try our very best not to judge.  It is very hard sometimes, this is true, but we do not need to hurt ourselves because of someone else's selfish actions. 

Be the best person you can be.  Love unconditionally, forgive not for others but for yourself to heal from pain or other negative emotions you may have, be a true friend, family member, and human being.  Attract the positive energy into your life and life will be so much sweeter.  Jesus had the ultimate concept of fairness and he lived it.  Follow his example and you will have a happier, healthier, more positive life.  Life is worth living and living to the fullest, so try not to judge in a judgemental society.