Chop your own tree down

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"For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner; not working at all, but are busy bodies".   2 Thessalonians 3:11.  NKJV

At the end of the day, the only thing we can change about others is our attitude towards them. We need to do what we're supposed to do and stop being more concerned about what other people do or do not do. If our task for the day is to dig the garden then that is fine. But don't try to dig someone elses- they won't like it. Likewise, if our task is to chop down one of the trees in the garden, don't try chopping down your neighbours's tree. I promise you, they will throw a wobbly.

Some people don't work but they have good reasons not too. They may be ill or have a severe disability - one that you cannot see. We have no right to judge them. We're just being a busy body. Yes there are some people who have no intention to work, but again, we have no right to point the finger at them. Better still, we need to look after our own failings instead.

Some people do things differently to others. To them, it is normal, to us it may be totally abnormal. I remember when I was a social worker. A concerned person contacted social services saying that she felt her neighbour's children were at risk because the whole house was a tip, and they could not be looking after the children properly. When checks were carried out, the children were clean and well-cared for. Furthermore, the school had no concerns with their welfare. The only abnormality was that the parents were not very good with housework. Their level of tidiness was not what some other people would have. The place was untidy but to the parents, this was normality. To the neighbour, it was abnormal. Different standards and that was all it was. The children were fine and always had been.

We need to be careful about making judgements about people, because we do not know the full story. We need to stick to chopping our own trees down. This is the way forward. In other words, God would want us to refrain from pointing the finger at people. They may not measure up to our standards, but they do to God.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard 

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com