Ponder this piece with me.
It’s about us;
The important work we need to do in our lives.
This is about our spiritual growth;
About our spiritual learning.
May I continue to refer to it as metamorphosis.
Not changing you into something else, mind you,
Because you really can’t be changed into something else.
You can only but move.
You can only but realize Who is already inside you.
And that person is Jesus Christ.
Your true self.
That person is God.

Like I said,
This is a vital realm of labour.
Something to focus on,
To diligently work at.
I’m referring to the words of Jesus,
‘Don’t judge.’
And as I hope to point out down the road,
To refrain from judging, is an uphill task.
So we’ve got to work really hard at it,
If we must pull off that superhuman feat.
And I say to you,
Guard your heart with diligence.
And keep it from judging.
For though you might not judge people verbally,
And though you may not criticize them audibly,
You’ve already done so
When you do it in your heart.

We all have to work at this.
I do.
You do.
Everyone and each person has much to do
To purge this disease from the soul.
Surely, it would require a lot of hard work.
But if we’re conscious of it every day,
Working at it,
Working at it painstakingly,
Being diligent,
We’re going to get better at it;
Even to that elusive point perfection.

You’re going to fall every now and then.
Because judging others
Is a common human weakness.
It’s a very deep rooted weakness.
Why?
We have biases;
We have preferences;
We have prejudices;
We have opinions —
And no sooner do we encounter one of a counter view,
One that is in a different place,
Than we don the judge’s garb.
We would most easily judge that which we do not understand.
And censor what we don’t agree with.
It’s a human weakness.
But work at it daily and consciously,
And you will rid your soul of the disease,
And move forward in your spiritual journey.
To a place where you no longer need the polluted bread of judging another.

Look around you.
Do you not see much that beckons on you
To look down on your fellow traveller?
Are you not inundated with sights
That incense you to despise another in your heart?
Yet, who are you to sit in judgement
In your own heart against another?
For when you despise another in your heart,
Have you not cast filthy mud
On the very image of the Maker,
And unwittingly corrupted
His esteemed handiwork?
And by condemning
And belittling your own flesh and blood,
Have you not despised God’s own judgement,
And ridiculed His benevolence?

I can feel that sense of helplessness.
The nagging and rebellious feeling that,
Because of who you are,
And because of where you are coming from,
Judging others is inevitable.
Yet, is it helplessness that you feel?
Or are you unaware
Of the power of love buried deep within you?
So, this word comes to you.
That you recover your consciousness.
And guard your heart
Against the despising of another.
That you keep yourself from judging.
Because, at the end of the day,
Each person is different.

Why is there so much pain in this world?
Is it not because of the already doomed attempts
To make everybody be like everybody?
And this in spite of the Makers expressed preference
For infinite varieties?
Observe how He has fashioned His works.
And you will see that it is not in His will
That everybody be everybody.
Does He require the lark to bark like the dog?
Or demand the boar to roar like the lion?
Does He punish the lovely jill for lack of the skills of the shark?
Or condemn the sow for failing to soar like the eagle?
Why then do we continue
To plunge into conformity’s abysmal illusions?

I must not fall into the miserable and barren dark hole of Michal;
Of David’s first wife.
She saw her husband dancing and leaping with joy.
His clothes lifted by the winds of his dance.
She looked down at the childlike gratitude of the happy king
With utter disdain.
And regarded every move as ridiculous.
From the self-exalted window of her pride,
She despised him in her heart.
Thus the rest of her days became plagued by bitterness,
Pain, and endless agony of the soul.
And the bliss of fruitfulness
Was banished forever from her breasts.

Despise not another,
Even in the most secret chambers of your heart.
And even in your sleep,
Let not the thought pass through.
In your journey, think not,
‘I am better than anybody.’
Neither Imagine,
‘My own way is the best way.’
Instead, with humility of heart,
Let your daily breath be the confident utterance,
‘This is who I am.’

Indeed, you are a unique
And complete expression of the Eternal One.
An offspring of the Fountain of all spirits.
Therefore, be not afraid.
And don’t let anybody judge you
For what you approve;
For that which you know is right for you.
But you too must not judge another
For what they approve;
For that which is right for them.
For the same thing may be wrong for one,
And yet be right for another.
Therefore, discover yourself
And walk in your own personal truth.

You will observe that
When you refrain from all judgement
Of your earthly kin,
You free yourself
For whatever else you need to do.
Then everything becomes good for you;
Barring that which would not make you happy,
And that which would hurt another.
For as long as it makes you happy,
And would never hurt another,
It is right for you.

To be truly happy,
Acknowledge that the other person
Also wants to be happy
And enjoy his life too.
Hence, in the pursuit of your own happiness,
Make sure you don’t infringe
On another person’s happiness.
Willingly yield to this constraint,
And let it restrain you from within.
Beyond that,
You harm no one.
It’s just your life.