Monday Musing: The Bar We Raise

The world is full of people that judge. Judgements are a part of life. Everyone has some judgement inside of them. We walk down the street and judge, judge, judge. Be it good or be it bad. We do it. Don't raise your hand and tell me that you don't. We are a judgmental people and that can be such a pain in the butt sometimes. It can be one of the saddest things about life. Judging others. I hate it. I really can't stand it when people judge others for the choices they make. Choices they personally disagree with. Then they throw a huge fit and make sure everybody knows it. Then that person that is making a decision has to explain themselves or apologize. I don't get it. Come on people, it was not your choice in the first place. It was the other persons, and they have every right to make that choice!

I saw a great example of this situation the other day on good old Facebook. The place of drama, diary entries, and the most weepy statuses on the planet. The place where there is NO privacy and everyone thinks they can get into everybody else's business. Oh man it drives me crazy sometimes. Anyway, so I logged on and saw that my friend decided she wanted a tattoo...oh man heaven forbid she get a tat. People went wild. "Your body is a temple", "those are permanent!" (NO DUH), "I don't have any respect for you anymore!", "Are you kidding me?". Not all of the comments were like that, there were many supportive ones, but I really was appalled by the negative feedback she got. Now, I personally would not get a tattoo. I don't really think I have anything meaningful to put as a tattoo, and I just don't want something permanent like a tattoo on my body. That's just that. I would probably get really, really, REALLY tired of it fast, and I will just say that I have a standard set for myself not to get one. I will never get one. Simple as that. Okay? Okay. But just because I wouldn't get a tattoo myself, doesn't mean I have to rip into a friend that wants one and tell them that they are awful or a sinner for wanting one. It is their choice. Not mine. There are a lot of LDS people with tattoos! I really think that's why a lot of people were freaking out. Like her wanting a tattoo was getting into everybody's LDS grill of standards and beliefs.

What I'm trying to say is that we should live for OURSELVES. We should make choices that are according to what we personally believe. We should be living to reach the bar that we raise for ourselves. In the end it is OUR choices that we are accountable for! Not your friends that decided to get a tat, or that decides to get a piercing, or that doesn't wear shorts to the mid-knee. It is YOUR choices that matter! Yours alone. Don't judge someone for the choices they make. If you disagree with them...SO freaking WHAT! People disagree with one another! C'est la vie! Lay off and look at your character and personal progression. Are you living what you believe? Are you keeping your standards and moral values? Are you living up to them? Are you doing what's right? Are you making choices that make you happy? Are you living as Christ would have you live? Ask those questions about YOURSELF...not anyone else.

Seriously though, we just need to STOP judging people. We all sin differently, maybe it's not even a sin we commit, maybe it's a daily action, we are all different. We are all on the path, we are all trying to reach the bar we have raised. Let's reach it! Let's do this without getting caught up in what everybody else is doing.

I am not a perfect person, and I'm not trying to tell you that I am. I have my faults, flaws, and judgements too, but I will definitely be working on being better. On loving others, on trying to be an example. We should all try to do that.

That's all. Have a nice day.