NO HEADLINE
Several months ago the department in which I work was moved to a new area in the factory. One of the many adjustments I had to make was where I would sit with my friend for breaks and lunch. I know that seems minor in comparison to the challenges we all face each day, but it was important for us to have a relaxing place to take our breaks and eat our lunch as we took time off from the daily grind of factory work.
We chose loading dock No. 62 to take our 30-minute lunch break. Our vantage point at dock 62 provides a view that includes the castle-like domes of Monastery Immaculate Conception and the breathtaking spire of Saint Ferdinand Catholic Church. On the days the weather permits we can look from the inside out to a scene that reminds us of our Catholic faith. Not only is it breathtakingly beautiful, but for me personally, I feel a sense of peace and security. I am thankful for this time of tranquility and reflection, if only for a few moments.
But then there are those days, due to weather conditions, that we cannot have the loading dock door open. We still sit at the dock, with our back to the closed dock door and now look from “the outside in.” Viewing the scene before me from this direction does not lend itself to reflection and tranquility, and I can feel my demeanor begin to change.
How we look at things, what direction we come from, certainly affects our attitude. I know this is true for me in life in general and in particular how I view other people. When looking from the inside out, I begin on the inside by using my heart to look at others and I have a better chance of seeing the good in them and I am more likely to put aside any prejudices I may have toward them. Many times though I allow myself to switch my vantage point as I do some days at the dock door at lunch. I turn things around and instead of using my heart as a starting point, I try to look from the “outside in” into another person’s life. How unfair for that person that I make my own judgments about them, thinking I am capable of knowing the truth by looking at their life from an “outside in” vantage point.
We all face the temptation to judge others each day. It makes us feel powerful to put others down. We sometimes use a self-righteous attitude to make ourselves look good. Our human weakness makes it easy for us to chime-in on judgmental conversations that have no positive value. Or worse yet, we may be the ones to initiate such conversations in which we evaluate another person’s life without considering how our words and actions could affect that person.
I came upon a quote from Pope Francis that, for me, speaks so well to this subject. "To refrain from judgment and condemnation means, in a positive sense to know how to accept the good in every person and to spare them any suffering that might be caused by our partial judgment, our presumption to know everything about them.”
Many times each day we are tempted to judge others and each time we have a choice to make. Will we succumb to the temptation and be judgmental, power-seeking and self-righteous or will we resist the temptation and accept the good in every person as Pope Francis says? I truly believe that the key lies in our vantage point. From where will we choose to start when we look at others, from the inside out or from the outside in? Let’s pray for one another that we may see the difference and make the right choice.
Brenda Hopf is a member of Divine Mercy Parish in Dubois County and also contributes to the “Sharing the Load” column in The Message.
