Spend more time looking within

The phrase "let he who is without sin cast the first stone" has been on my mind these last few days. It's from a Bible story. NOTE: I am not a student of the Bible, but it's chock full of great parables for life. Here's the gist of the story: The people in power were looking for an excuse to accuse Jesus of a crime so they could get him out of their way. They brought a woman to him who'd been caught in the act of adultery and said that their law required that she be stoned, and challenged him to give his opinion. They were totally setting him up.

Instead of falling into their trap, Jesus uttered his famous phrase which amounted to this: I get what you guys are doing here...So, here's a thought. Take a look at yourselves. Look within. The first one of you who can honestly say he hasn't sinned, he hasn't made a stupid comment or mistake, you be the guy to throw the first stone.

One by one, they slunk outta there until it was only Jesus and the lady. He asked her where her accusers were and she told him they'd all left after what he said, at which point he told her to go home and mend her ways.

With respect to the Black Lives Matter movement, I've heard people say "Well my ancestors didn't own slaves." You'll hear that from people whose ancestors came here in the mid-1800s from Europe. As if that matters but, by the same token, are you sure? Maybe your Italian or Irish ancestors DID, in fact, own slaves in earlier centuries. I've seen Facebook posts that say "I don't care if you're black, brown or green; Can't we just agree to respect each other?" I wonder if they've always respected green people, like when that green alien family bought the house next door and moved in. Is this a convenient, timely, new notion, or something they've lived by all their lives? Sounds suspiciously to me like NIMBY.

Here is the point. It doesn't really matter THAT you've sinned, or erred, or made a bad decision because EVERYONE has. You have. I have. They have. What matters is that you learn from your mistakes and do better. Think about your own transgressions. Do not worry yourself over the actions of others. Be humble. Be open. Listen to how hard it has been, how hard it is, for other people. Recognize that you have had advantages. If you can get there in your self-examination, stay there a while. Spend even more time taking a deeper look within.