Thursday, October 09, 2003

Others
I've come to think that one of the most difficult steps of growth and maturity is to begin loving others more than analyzing others. For people like me who see life though an analytical lense, this can be really tough.

Just when we start to break down walls with other people and really start experiencing community with them, it hits. We see their brokenness clearly (we probably recognize brokenness because we are familiar with it from time spent with ourselves). We see people's laziness, alcoholism, workaholism, greed, pride, apathy, extreme fundamentalism, extreme liberalism, consumerism, obsessiveness, or sexual addiction and we think: "Ah hah -- I knew it! Now let me confront that brokenness in you, or discredit you because you are broken, and broken badly."

This is what church people do. Even Apexers. Even me.

I've come to think that one of the most difficult steps of growth and maturity is to begin loving others more than analyzing others. This doesn't mean that we never try to help someone else overcome their brokenness. It does mean that we become humble enough to realize that love is very rarely the real reason why we really confront people or backstab them. It's usually not because we love them. It's usually because we are analyzing them and have spotted their brokenness.

Sure, I am terrified of confrontation. Yet maybe God can use that to teach me that He didn't put me on this planet to confront every person in my life (inlcuding myself) about every piece of brokenness I have spotted in them. He didn't even put His Son on this earth for that purpose, let alone me.

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