Thinking Out Loud, Volume CCL

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I hate feeling guilty. I hate it so much that I've been searching for ways to avoid it. Feelings of guilt cause me to feel uncomfortable, so I've decided to do everything I can to keep from having those feelings, and I've made some interesting discoveries in the process. For example, do you know what causes a person to feel guilty? It's guilt. Usually, a person will FEEL guilty because he IS guilty. I've come up with two ways of avoiding feelings of guilt, and that's what I want to discuss with you now. As an example, we'll pretend that we're having these feelings because we see someone who is hurting and in desperate need of assistance from someone, and we feel bad because we know we should be doing something, but, for whatever reason, we're not doing it...hence, feelings of guilt.

Sometimes guilty people LOOK guilty. Barney Fife could always tell if someone was guilty by their eyes. Either they had "beady" eyes, or they had "shifty" eyes. Defense attorneys have figured that out as well, so when they bring their client into court, they will give him a good shave and haircut, and put him in a really nice fitting suit and tie so that it will make him appear to be an exemplary citizen. But judges are aware of this also, and they are trained to look beyond appearance and social status and only focus on the letter of the law and how it applies when weighed against the facts of the case. Therefore, he or she can pronounce judgment and go home that night with the satisfaction of a job well done, knowing that justice was served based on solid facts, and the ones on trial were getting their just reward. With that in mind, I can now relay to you the first way to avoid feeling guilty when we don't help someone who is in need.

Point 1 on how to avoid feeling guilty for not helping a person in need: Become that person's judge. All you have to do is look at a person who is struggling and then look back at his life, making note of all the mistakes he has made in the past. You'll be amazed at how easy it is to justify your lack of action when you can make the determination that he is getting exactly what he deserves. I can even give you some lines to use as you pronounce his sentence: How about this one? "Well, he had it coming. It serves him right." Here's a good one: "He made his bed, now he can lie in it." The best one is: "Well, now maybe he'll think twice before he pulls that kind of stunt again." I promise you that if you try this method, it will definitely help you wash those guilty feelings right on down the drain. However, there is one little side effect you may want to consider if you use this method. If you try this on someone, then someone else will do the same thing to you. "Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive." (Matthew 7:1-2 New English Translation) It seems like I also saw something in there that says, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Hmmmm....maybe we should take a look at point two.

Point 2 on how to avoid feeling guilty for not helping a person in need: Help that person. Even if you know his past and everything he's done to bring on the suffering he is facing, if you will stop and consider your own transgressions, it will be easier to overlook his. That way, his past actions will not become a part of the equation. One of my good friends once told me a story about how he had to forgive someone for one of the most inexcusable acts you can imagine. I hope to get him to write his story for all of us one day and I'll post it on this blog, but for now, just take my word, if he could forgive in his situation, none of the rest of us have any excuses.

I wouldn't be qualified to write about this if I hadn't tested both ways, but I will admit, I've tried points one and two, and I'm now ready to make my recommendation. I found that the consequences for using Point one were a little bit more than what I'm willing to accept; yet I do have to mention that there is also a side effect for using Point two. The feeling of satisfaction you will experience for knowing that you have made a positive difference in someone's life will give you a high that no drug could ever match, and it has the potential to start your life down a whole new path where you've never been before. I think the choice is obvious.

That's my Christmas sermon.

Merry Christmas!

Preston