Proverbs 22:10
Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife
and reproach shall cease.
It is easy to sit in judgment
of others. We know not the trials and
tribulations of their hearts, nor the inner workings of their minds, we only
see and hear what is external and use this as our knowledge about our fellow
human beings.
If we did this with all
of life, would we ever know the sweetness of a pineapple? Would we ever venture to discover the tender
meat of a lobster? How often have we
dismissed someone as inferior because of the way he or she dresses or the place
where he or she lives? So then we
deprive ourselves of knowing perhaps the kindest person we’ll ever meet, or the
funniest, or the most wise. Even a
bellowing bigot could be a lamb in wolf’s clothing.
Often, people who come
off as the most loudly confident can actually be the least self-assured. They feel themselves surrounded by
superiority and bark like an anxious dog.
Some who wish to feel better about themselves will take great effort to knock
other people down, their criticisms and contempt laying the other people low so
that they, in comparison, may feel themselves lofty and high. But, it is all just violence and fear.
If we had true peace
within ourselves, if we could rest assured upon the knowledge of our own unique
value and worth, then we wouldn’t be arrogant.
We would know that we are wonderfully made for good and beautiful
purposes and we would not sneer in scorn at others. We would be able to recognize our own faults
and failings, understand our own weaknesses, and this wouldn’t make us afraid
or hopeless or full of self-loathing.
Yes, we all need improvement. And
yet, each and every one of us is sacred in the eyes of God, is beloved by Him
who made us, who became one of us and died for us – for each and every one of
us so that we may fully be our true selves.
Perhaps, we know
someone who we think is overly critical and unkind toward others. Perhaps, we see this person as arrogant and
scornful. We may want to cast this
person out of our lives so that we may not have rancor and meanness
anymore. But… are we sure that we are
not the arrogant ones? Are we sure that
we are not quick to judge and dismiss others?
Would it not be better to cast arrogance and scorn out of our own hearts
first? To err is human, to forgive divine[i]
and shouldn’t it be our goal to be more like God? That doesn’t mean more like God in looking
down in judgment and wrathful punishment – no!
This is a human projection upon God, this is what we see in the Hebrew
Testament for an infant people just learning about who God is. In maturity, the Chosen People come to
understand that God is loving and good.
In our own lives, our parents may seem to be bigger and stronger and
even, sometimes, a bit scary – but everything that they do for us, ideally,
they do out of love. Can we say that we
act in love when we turn up our noses at someone that we judge to be
inferior? Can we say that we act in love
when we turn up our noses at someone that we judge to be arrogant?
If we truly know love
and there is true love within us, then there is recognition of sanctity in
every human being; there is patience, forgiveness, and forbearance in our
hearts. This doesn’t mean that we simply
put up with the bad behavior of the scornful, patronizingly tolerant of their
negativity. We should be able to face
them as they are and help them to see who they are – not by becoming critical
and scornful ourselves, but by being respectful and gentle, kindly seeking the
source of their inner rancor. There will
be those who do not want to be helped, but this will not dissuade us from faith
in their inner goodness. Those who want
to be left alone, shall be left alone with their own rancor if they don’t try
to change. But they will receive no scorn
and no contention from us. Humble and
loving, our reproach will only be the call to recognize their own sanctity and
to not be afraid. Such is the call that
we all must answer if we want to truly and fully live.
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