This I Believe

I believe in the scriptural injunction, “judge not that ye be not judged” [because] “with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Mat. 7:1-2). I have learned to always pause and think before condemning another person’s action. Knowing the reasons behind actions before coming to a conclusion has given me an understanding heart and always makes me a better judge.

For example, when I was on mission, we had a new missionary from the Missionary Training Center. This new missionary was always crying. Everybody thought he was feeling homesick-something that usually happens to most new missionaries. So no attention was given to him. His crying continued from days to weeks to even months. Yet, nobody cared to know why he was crying most times. Instead, some missionaries including me mocked, laughed, and teased him, calling him funny names like “the crying Elder” and chastising him. Some said he wasn’t mature yet and he should be sent home to cry to his mother. The young elder became more emotionally distressed so much so that he felt sick and was hospitalized for days. The doctor’s report stated that he was in a deep emotional stress. Then we got to know why he was always crying. He lost his father in an accident a few days before he was to report to the MTC. It was so grievous that it made him cry most times. When I got to know this, my heart was filled with guilt and pains. The pains I felt then were great and unfathomable and I hated myself for acting so mean towards the new missionary.

Since then, I have learned to never judge people without knowing the reason for their actions. I have come to believe that the more you look, the less you see. What we see, we feel is there and what we do not see, we feel is not there but that is not always true. I have learned in life to look as far as the road went before concluding on issues. Some matters appear like an iceberg; only a portion is visible but deep beneath lies something gigantic. I seek to see the whole iceberg and know all the reasons before concluding. This has helped me to have an understanding heart with people.

Oh, how our life would be different if we stopped making negative and quick judgments about people we encounter. Let us always look for the good in others, respect them, and be slow to condemn them. Judging a person does not define who they are, rather it defines who we are.