AN OPEN LETTER ABOUT STOPPING THE MADNESS

The Madness

Whatever happened?  Truly what has happened to people being true to themselves and their families and still having friends that don’t look or live the same way that they do, and all of them not only getting along but also encouraging each other along the way.  Or at the very least at least respecting other humans even if they are completely different in every way?

Somewhere along the line, we have lost it…the desire to truly love one another.

Somehow, a condescending, judgmental mentality has crept in.  It has become more commonplace that whatever it is YOU are doing in YOUR life should be looked at and upon as righteous and good and better than others and whoever is NOT doing what you are doing, is wrong or should be looked down upon.

WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?  I know I can’t be alone in this.  

When did it happen that where your kids go to school is better than where mine do and that an extension of that would be that if my child is struggling in certain areas of school, it must be because I have my kid in a “lesser value” school in your mind instead of just simply MY CHILD IS STRUGGLING.  

When did it happen that you have become God over others lives?  Knowing where they should live or where their kids should go to school or what sports or extracurricular activities they should be a part of.  What about judging what a family eats, or their medical vantage point, or what car they drive or what the parents do for a living?

Most importantly, when did it become your business at all to think that you can possibly know what is best for someone else’s life that is not your direct responsibility?

Let’s break this down.  

The Either….Or Situation

I know some people in life that always feel the need to not only voice their opinion but to voice it in such an elitist way to be sure you know they are right.  Not as if they are sharing to share and would love to have an honest and nonjudgmental and non-argumentative discussion about it.  They simply what to tell you what THEY KNOW as an absolute (in their minds) and not hear anything back.   They want to be sure that they imply their life is superior to yours and you should be aspiring to live and do as they do in their everyday life.

I think what this is is a way for them to feel secure in their choices.  This is truly bizarre because they get to feel secure in their choices for the same reason you and I do.  IT IS OUR LIFE TO LIVE AND OURS TO MAKE OUR CHOICES.  

Let me spell this out clearly for all of us…

IT IS NOT YOUR PLACE TO TELL SOMEONE ELSE HOW TO LIVE THEIR LIFE OR WHAT CHOICES TO MAKE.

Luke 6: 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 

There is only one partial, kind-of exception to this…unless they ask for your OPINION…and then you can clearly spell out WITH LOVE what your best advice or mindset is on what they asked for if you can do so WITH LOVE and humbleness.

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;

I have other friends, and oh this is so refreshing, that while we share almost none of the same beliefs, or where our kids go to school, we are the best of friends because we have chosen LOVE over our differences, we have chosen RESPECT over condemnation, and we have chosen GROWTH over ignorance. 

It takes so much courage to step out of your shell and truly LISTEN to people…not just with your ears, but with the entirety of your being.  We all have a story and it will always be evolving. 

 I have learned so much from so many people that lives look nothing like my own, and I am forever grateful for that.  We have lived many places and have the blessing of knowing and loving many people.  Some of them I had the privilege of being in the trenches of life with, others everyday life, and some for joyous times.  All of them have made an impact on my life and I hope they realize that.  

The Choice

We are all needed and we can all edify one another if we choose to respect, listen, and love.  

We can choose to be the kind of person who steps outside of ourself and gives our mind, soul, time and energy to really hearing someone and choosing to love them fully right where they are because we have been given that gift of full and complete grace-filled love, 

OR

We can choose to be close-minded, condescending, know it all, egotistical, and ignorant ones who push our ideas on every subject matter into peoples lives whether asked for or not.  And, therefore lose someone forever as they are taught to not trust or do not open their mind and heart to someone who claims to want to listen in the future and  thereby will either close up and be lost in that internal struggle, or perpetuate the cycle of judgmentalness feeling the need to validate their own choices.

The Beautiful Truth

If you have chosen the latter, it’s NOT TOO LATE…by God’s grace, we can all change! That’s the best news!  

Here is the beautiful thing….you have been chosen and validated by God.  

He approves of you.

He chooses you.

He loves you with an everlasting, deep abiding love.

He will never leave you or forsake you.

He will chase you and hang onto you.

He will listen to your story and continue to grow you and make it even more beautiful.

He SEES YOU.

He sees you in the most intimate way you could imagine…he sees right through…to your pain, your thoughts, your tendencies, your fears, your insecurities, doubts, temptations…..He gets it all.

I John 4:19 reminds us, “We love because He first loved us.”  Are we perfect? nope!  Is anyone else? Nope!  So why not come alongside each other in love as we are commanded to do.  “‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b] There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31

You focus on what works best for you and your family.  And do the best you can to always be growing and learning in love.  And pray for God’s wisdom for the best choices and to continue to guide you.  

None of us our perfect..even the ones that pretend to have it all together…thats all they are doing is pretending.  

Let’s stop the madness of judgmentalness and press on towards truly seeing and loving others and encouraging one another in this everyday journey we call life.  

We all have enough on our plates, but judgementalness shouldn’t be present in our lives towards others or from others towards us.  

Life is beautiful and supposed to be different for each of us.  If one of us had it right, then God would have stopped at Adam and Eve.  But, He didn’t.  And He also didn’t stop with you or with me.  This means we aren’t perfect, or the image to aspire to…He is!  

If He is the ultimate for us to aspire to, and we know we aren’t perfect, then it should be quite simple to deduce that since He was and is Love, our job should be to love as pure and open as possible to humbly encourage one another.

YOU GOT THIS!!

We are cheering for you and are here for you in love.

But most importantly,

God is here for you and will never leave you or forsake you.

Click HERE to SNAG YOUR FREE WALL ART SET, leave us a comment below and share this article with someone who could maybe use some encouragement today.