Monday, November 24, 2008

From Shenpa Warrior

My little brother has really grown up to be someone I admire, I'm reminded of how wise he is by a recent post on his blog.

Shenpa Warrior

He quotes Spencer W. Kimball:
Jesus saw sin as wrong but also was able to see sin as springing from deep and unmet needs on the part of the sinner. This permitted him to condemn the sin without condemning the individual. We can show forth our love for others even when we are called upon to correct them. We need to be able to look deeply enough into the lives of others to see the basic causes for their failures and shortcomings.

I had an experience a few years ago that forever changed my views on repentance, which goes along nicely with what Adam said- repentance isn't about being punished for our sins. It's about being able to move past the things we do that halt our personal growth.

It's not a crime and punishment sort of thing. I don't think God's laws work that way. It's about healing and growth so that we can become happy, fulfilled people.

I really like the Kimball quote because THAT is exactly why we don't judge other people. If someone is struggling in some way, instead of looking at them and saying, "well, I need to stay away from them, they're doing bad things", we say, "how can I help this person get through this challenge".

Jesus taught us to love, not judge.

5 comments:

wordsfromhome said...

Let's go just a little further with this thought.
We can show forth our love, but most of us are NOT called on to correct the behavior in others that we perceive as sinful. Perhaps we can be an example in how we live our lives, but only providing "correction" when the sinner has recognized the sin and wants to change. Can I help a person through a challenge if I am being judgemental? I think that we have to show forth our love without judgement to be effective in encouraging personal growth.

Anonymous said...

I really like that perspective on repentance/punishment. I'm surprised to learn that you two are related.

Alice said...

Words- That's exactly what I mean. Many times the best thing we can do to "help" other people through their challenges is just to be a friend, or keep our mouth shut.

David- you couldn't tell we were siblings by how similarly intelligent we both are? :)

adamf said...

Nice additional thoughts allie, and thanks for the nice complements. :)

wordsfromhome, you are right, most of us are not called to correct others, outside of being a parent, or perhaps through *careful* examination of personal revelation. As a general rule, especially in counseling, I do not correct or give advice, unless I ask the person tentatively first, then if they are interested, I will.

Anonymous said...

Allie,

I know lots of intelligent people online (I try to avoid the other kind) - they can't all be related so I make no assumptions.