A Christian in Reflection
When I started off on my short 8 week course 4 weeks ago, I made a resolution that I wanted to go in to make a difference in the lives of others. I promised to myself not to judge others, but to love them - and a group of people have been a very big test to that.
It's hard not to judge others when what they do constantly gets on your nerves and irritates you. It's like your proverbial thorn in the flesh - though sometimes I wonder if 'thorn' would be downplaying the level of agitation some people have on me. 'spikes' would be more appropriate.
You wonder why I find myself being so harsh on these group of people, and the answer is simply because they are irresponsible. I don't profess to be the most responsible person in the world, but I think to shun it is immature and simply indicative of a weak character. These people show flagrant disregard to timings, falling in late in the morning many times and causing the platoon to be held back for morning exercise and subsequently breakfast. They take their own sweet time to smoke (most of them smoke), and when the platoon has work to do together, some of them show an utter lack of interest. They throw your scoldings and coaxings into thin air, choosing to do things their way, like they're the law or something.
Being in charge of the platoon to a certain extent, it's simply vexing to communicate with them. But as Terence mentions, the key to commanding people would be to win their hearts. Obviously it's easier said than done, because the platoon is like a motley crew with different people from all different walks of life, with different personalities and beliefs.
But when I find myself judging them, God seems to remind me not to do so. I shun them because they seek instant gratification without worrying about the ramifications of what they do. Pleasure - however fleeting - usually comes first for them. Like how for 5 more minutes of sleep they actually cause the entire platoon to be held back for 20 minutes queueing up for breakfast.
But I remember how when I was struggling with problems like lust (not that I'm over that problem totally), it was very much the same for me. For some fleeting moments of pleasure that watching some illicit material of prurient content could render me, I actually numbed myself to the consequences of my actions - upsetting God and also slowly but surely destroying the potentially fulfilling sex life that could be derived from a solid marriage.
So yes, upon reflection, I do think now that I'm not so much 'better' than the others I rather erroneously judged. Hence it's no longer for me to burn in righteous fury and start ranting about the different annoying people I face everyday. Rather, I'll just learn to love them and start befriending them to win over their hearts.
It's hard not to judge others when what they do constantly gets on your nerves and irritates you. It's like your proverbial thorn in the flesh - though sometimes I wonder if 'thorn' would be downplaying the level of agitation some people have on me. 'spikes' would be more appropriate.
You wonder why I find myself being so harsh on these group of people, and the answer is simply because they are irresponsible. I don't profess to be the most responsible person in the world, but I think to shun it is immature and simply indicative of a weak character. These people show flagrant disregard to timings, falling in late in the morning many times and causing the platoon to be held back for morning exercise and subsequently breakfast. They take their own sweet time to smoke (most of them smoke), and when the platoon has work to do together, some of them show an utter lack of interest. They throw your scoldings and coaxings into thin air, choosing to do things their way, like they're the law or something.
Being in charge of the platoon to a certain extent, it's simply vexing to communicate with them. But as Terence mentions, the key to commanding people would be to win their hearts. Obviously it's easier said than done, because the platoon is like a motley crew with different people from all different walks of life, with different personalities and beliefs.
But when I find myself judging them, God seems to remind me not to do so. I shun them because they seek instant gratification without worrying about the ramifications of what they do. Pleasure - however fleeting - usually comes first for them. Like how for 5 more minutes of sleep they actually cause the entire platoon to be held back for 20 minutes queueing up for breakfast.
But I remember how when I was struggling with problems like lust (not that I'm over that problem totally), it was very much the same for me. For some fleeting moments of pleasure that watching some illicit material of prurient content could render me, I actually numbed myself to the consequences of my actions - upsetting God and also slowly but surely destroying the potentially fulfilling sex life that could be derived from a solid marriage.
So yes, upon reflection, I do think now that I'm not so much 'better' than the others I rather erroneously judged. Hence it's no longer for me to burn in righteous fury and start ranting about the different annoying people I face everyday. Rather, I'll just learn to love them and start befriending them to win over their hearts.
