Often we judge others and events taking place from
just one perspective – our own. But there are other perspectives that you should
consider when passing a judgment. I shared this story in my homily today, and
people liked it – they actually chuckled and smiled, something unusual for
congregations in Maltese churches. It has a good message on how we should not
criticize others until we had checked all facts and other perspectives.
There was a woman who lived in a block of apartments.
She was pretty elderly and did not move much, but she had all the time in the
world to sit behind her window and criticize her neighbors. She would tell her
husband “I can’t believe how dirty those clothes are hanging on the line. They
don’t know how to wash them. Or maybe they ran out of detergent.....” This went
on for months, every day, “Why can’t some people wash their clothes properly –
they’re always filthy, grey and dirty! I can’t stand them anymore!” Finally one
day, she was surprised to see all the clothes sparkling white. And she told her
husband “Honey, they finally washed them properly!” And her husband calmed her
down by saying, “Darling, there was absolutely nothing wrong with their clothes
– they were always white and clean. What happened is that I finally washed our
windows – they were dirty, dusty and full of cobwebs!” So, it’s always a matter
of perspective – and next time before you judge your neighbours, make sure you
wash your windows.
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