Addiction #24 – Arrogance (Part 2 … Way 3 to Freedom) 05/05/12
LICKING THE RAZOR’S EDGE
Addiction #24 – ARROGANCE
(Part 2 … a few Ways to Freedom)
*TIP #03: CARING FOR CRIMINALS
Setting aside the fact that the VAST majority of all “criminals” did not perform the deed for which they have been incarcerated, even if they did commit their crimes, they are still worthy of our Compassion.
And by Compassion I do not mean pity or sympathy, by Compassion I do not mean mere tolerance, and by Compassion I do not mean a warm feeling or a Kind thought.
Deep-seated Compassion is a verb … It is either a courageous deed or it is little to nothing at all.
So when you see a “criminal” on television get his “just punishment”, have the humility to feel Compassion for the plight that put him there. Have Compassion for the fact that he most certainly suffered immensely before committing his crime, and have Compassion for the suffering she most certainly felt immediately after committing it. Praying for perpetrators is one method of doing so, and openly forgiving them in a written letter is another.
Of course, visiting them in person is the most powerful way to humbly remember that these folks are people –- human beings who still deserve Kindness just as much as you do.
When you come face to face with a man or woman in prison; when you have the humility to listen intently to their stories and see firsthand how unfair their punishments are, you will be forced to exude a level of compassionate forgiveness that will heal your own broken Soul as much as it will theirs.
“Do not be eager to deal out death and judgment … Even the very wise cannot see all ends.” ~ J. R. R. Tolkien
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