Russian Literature, Monsters, Ephesians, and Me

When I get upset or disillusioned with someone I start to make them a monster in my thoughts.  I make huge terrible assumptions about them based on tiny observations and presumed observations I have of them.  Likewise, when I start to get to know someone I start to assume all kinds of great things about them.  Therefore, when they finally make one mistake I start to loathe my devotion to them.  (Don't act like you don't relate!  In fact, if you don't relate to that then you may be blind to your ability to do that too.)

Hmmm....

Looks like the problem lies with me.  I like to try and make connections.  That's probably why I love preaching and reading the Bible so much.  There is so much information and it is incredibly interconnected.  Verses, stories, and teachings from the New Testament are generally rooted in a few Old Testament stories, teachings, or commentary.  The problem comes when I start to use my "connection-making ability" to try and understand a person, not people but a person.  When this is applied to a person I start to make up a whole life story about them that explains how their behaviors and actions (that I have observed) are all related.  Then I can easily deem them "good" or "bad."  Then I cease from getting to know that real person and I only know the person that I have perceived them to be.

That's why I love this quote in the Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky.  "As a general rule, people, even the wicked, are much more naive and simple-hearted than we suppose.  And we ourselves are, too."

I am pretty certain that everyone, except Jesus, has fallen short of the glory of God.  Therefore I believe that no person is all bad or all good.  If I believe that then I have to change my behavior and my attitude about other people.  I have to live by some other words written by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:2, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."

So I can

A) Assume that I am really smart and know hidden things about people based on the 10 minutes a week that I see them or...worse yet...the gossip that I hear about them

-or-

B) Assume that people don't always behave like themselves.  A person who is generally "good" can do some "bad" things and a person who is generally "bad" can do some good things.

Option "A" seems much easier to do.  I challenge you to try "B."  "B" actually allows for a person to change attitude and behavior and still be the same person.  "B" implies that someone can change or grow.