Almost a week ago, I found out my uncle and his best friend were dead. There aren’t a lot of details, but long story short is they died from a heroin overdose. Their bodies were found a few days after they died, and we’ll probably never know what happened. And while my initial reaction was pain and sadness, right now, I’m just angry.
I know anger isn’t the right reaction. It’s one of the 7 deadly sins, after all. But how could he be so stupid? This time last year, my other uncle died from a heart attack. It was a tough time for my family, and my mother and grandmother are still reeling from that loss. And now, we’re doing it all over again because of a bad batch of drugs that my addict uncle had to have. So yeah, I’m angry.
I am not perfect. I have a whole hosts of issues that I know my family doesn’t approve of. Things God doesn’t approve of. I’m a sinner, I struggle and I know it. And sometimes those things could probably kill me. It’s not my place to judge.
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. -Romans 14
Maybe that’s my lesson in all this. We all have our demons, and no matter how we walk along our path with God, there are falls. Some of them worse than others. But no one gets to judge the sins of the other. One of my favorite internet memes says “Don’t judge someone because they sin differently than you do.”
That’s what I’ll be working on this week. Not judging other people’s sins. And the other thing is forgiveness.
Take a moment to work on forgiving someone in your life you’ve been wanting to. You have everything to gain.
And if you can, donate. I have a week to get the last $3,000 I need for launch. If I don’t get it, I can’t leave in a few weeks. And I really want to go!
