How I Choose to Treat Others

***Warning--This post will have some thoughts on religion in it. If religion is a touchy
       subject with you, please do not read it. I am not a pastor or preacher. I did not go
       to school to study religion and it is not my life's calling. This is just my viewpoint. If
       it bothers you, I am sorry. Like I said it is just how I feel.***

A friend of mine was upset today over some comments that were made to her. She was
being judged not on who she was but because of her religion. This is one thing I can't
stand. Not just the religion thing. But judging a person for their sex, race,age,nationality,
religion,sexual preference, etc is wrong. And to hate them for one of those reasons is
just stupid. You don't even know the person and you are judging them for a superficial
reason. This person could be one of the most amazing people that ever has lived and you
reject them for such a shallow reason. This is faulty thinking in my point of view.

I was taught not to judge people at first glance. I believe in treating people the way you
want to be treated. I did not grow up in a church going house. We believed in God and
tried to live good lives. As I grew older, I did join a church. A split in the church caused
me to step back and examine religion. Even christians can get caught up in fighting over
the craziest things. Too much importance gets placed on the trivial and focus gets drawn
away from the words we are to live by. I began to study my bible and go deeper into
clearer understanding of the words and the world. After a few years, I found another
church and I am happier there.

In my studies, I was drawn to certain things. We are told that two things are vital to our
journey in this world. The first thing is that we are to love God with all our heart, mind
and soul. The second thing is that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
Neighbor doesn't just mean the people that live around you. It means every other
person on this planet. And it doesn't say to love them as long as they are just like you
and do the things you approve of. It says to love them as love love yourself. Watching
some people and how they treat others, I find myself thinking that they must really hate
themselves. To me, loving someone means you love them no matter what. Very hard
concept for some people to grasp. I may not like some of your actions or choices but
I still love you. I know that sounds naive and trite but it is how I choose to live my life.
There have been a lot of people that have hurt me in one way or another.It could have
made me a bitter and hateful person, but I choose to let those things make me stronger.
Because my stepfather abused me, I could hate all men because they are men. But I do
not. Because the woman that gave birth to me let he abuse me, I could hate all women.
I don't because I made the choice not to harden my heart. I am not going to say that I
have never hated them, because for a large part of my life I did. I wished they would
both have to go through the pain I went through. Then one day, I realised that hating
them just hurt me. They didn't care if I hated them. All I was doing was letting that
hatred bind me in chains. It shadowed every part of my life. Every relationship I had
was tainted by that hatred. I judged people based on what they had done to me.

So I made the choice to forgive them. And in forgiving them, I set myself free. It was
not easy. I have had to teach myself not to judge others when I  first meet them. I
had to change my way of thinking. Instead of approaching people with my guard up,
I had to learn to offer them a handshake and an open heart. Do I get hurt by doing this?
Yes. But I get stronger each day. I still am cautious about revealing some things to
other people. I'm working on that. But that won't stop me from loving every person I
come in contact with. It is not for me to judge others. I may not like some of the things
they do or say, but I still must love them. Rewarding hatred with hatred just breeds more
hatred. There is enough of that in the world and I do not want to add to that. I just try
to live my life, hoping to help all that I can. Hopefully, I make people's lives better as I
pass through. That is all we can hope to do. If everyone did treat others the way that
they wanted to be treated, I think this world would be a much better place.

****I hope I haven't offended too many people with this. I try not to stir the pot, but
        like I said, I can't stand to see someone judged for what they are and not who
        they are. Please forgive me if I have offended you. That was not my goal.****