1. Living in Peace – Withholding Judgment
Last time, we considered the role of forgiveness in maintaining peaceful
communities. Withholding judgment is a related concept, because we can
forgive only those who we believe might be worthy of forgiveness. All but
the rare sociopath have feelings of compassion and, more or less, act with
kindness. Likewise, all of us have the capacity for evil. Consequently, we
should be very reticent to pass judgement on other people. Indeed, Jesus
said, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you
pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure
you get” (Matthew 7:1-2).
How can we withhold judgment? A good rule of thumb is to avoid drawing
conclusions about motivations. It is very tempting to attribute good
motivations to our own actions and those of people we love, and bad
motivations to those who have harmed us or who belong to groups we dislike.
Such attributions are almost always incorrect to a degree, and often they
are badly mistaken.
The trick is to avoid making conclusions about the “why” question. While it
is appropriate for detached, disinterested scientists to explore why people
behave in certain ways, when we seek to explain why people did things that
affected us our interests almost always color our analyses.
We can have honest conversations about how the actions of others have
affected us without presuming good or bad motivations. As long as the person
receiving the information does not feel judged, they will not be defensive
and they can be open to our hearing our feelings, experiences, and stories.
Next, I will consider the primacy of truth in the quest for peaceful
communities.
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.
2. From All-Creatures.Org Ministry
Were you aware of the ongoing sermon/spiritual contest with cash prizes
for any clergy or lay leader who has given a
talk/presentation/sermon/lecture about compassion for animals? Please make
sure to click on the Interfaith Vegan Coalition article in this week’s
newsletter to read about it and pass it to people who might like to enter.
And as always, thank you for your readership and we are delighted to provide
you with this week's edition of the All-Creatures.org Newsletter covering
up-to-the-moment 2022 topics including GOOD news for animals,
thought-provoking AR articles, religious and spiritual vegan information,
art & stories, and so much more!
All-Creatures.org Newsletter for April 7, 2022
In the Love of the Lord,
Frank L Hoffman
All-Creatures.org
and
Kindness,
Tams Nicholson
Executive Directress
All-Creatures.org