Should You Feel Inclined to Censure - #235

January 10, 2018

Lyrics

1. Should you feel inclined to censure

Faults you may in others view,

Ask your own heart, ere you venture,

If you have not failings, too.

Do we feel incline to censure others? Sadly yes, we do, too often. At least I do. It is so easy to see what others "do wrong". We have our vision and ideas of how things should be and it can be frustrating to see others not living in a way that WE believe is the best, not doing things as WE thinki they should be. But as we have that inclination, we must sincerely ask ourselves: Am I right? Am I free of sin to throw the first stone? Do I have a beam in my eye that impedes me to pull out the mote in my brother/sister's eye?

Let not friendly vows be broken;

Rather strive a friend to gain.

We must not break relationships because of our judgements, because we believe we do/believe/know/understand/obey/etc. more than others. Instead of focusing on the bad others do, why not strive to gain friends, to be nice, to cheer up others for their efforts to do what they believe is good, why not showing others that we are proud of the good they do according to their understanding of things. 

Many words in anger spoken

Find their passage home again.

How I understand this sentence is that things that we say in anger might come back to us: those we judge and censure instead of being nice with us might simply do as we did and do the same with us. Is it the kind of relationships we want to have?

2. Do not, then, in idle pleasure

Trifle with a brother’s fame;

Idle pleasure - I love how the author portrays the "pleasure of trifling with someone's reputation and fame: an IDLE pleasure. What is hardest to find the bad or the good in others? Isn't it so easy to find everything bad others do? It is so easy, that people who are not industruous, who are not doing good, who are lazy, who have nothing more important to do, fall on the trap of criticize others. To ruin the reputation of others, to gossip, to judge, shows how lazy we are that we just find the easy way: criticize instead of making the effort to understand, to get to know better the person to feel in his/her shoes, to try to imagine the circumstances the person goes through and the efforts they's making to do the best they can. Are we choosing the easiest way? Let's choose the hardest right instead! ;)

Guard it as a valued treasure,

Sacred as your own good name.

The reputation and fame of others and ours must be valued, treasured, sacred. Why? Well, are we not children of God? We are brothers and sisters, we are of great worth, we are gods in embryo, we are God's most loved creatures. Our Heavenly Fathers loved us so much that He sent his Only Begotten Son to save us. He believed in us. He gives us the opportunity to change, to become better, through repentance. The Atonement is real and can help us change and start a new life. Can you see the sacraedness of life? Who are we, simple humans, to decide if what others are doing is right or wrong? God is the only to know our hearts, let Him judge, while we treasure others and we strive to form and keep sacred relationships.

Do not form opinions blindly;

Hastiness to trouble tends;

Those of whom we thought unkindly

Oft become our warmest friends.

What a true statement! Hastiness to trouble tends!  As I said above, the only one who knows our hearts is Heavenly Father. We can't judge what others do and why because we don't know their intentions, their situations, their experiences, their comprehension, their weaknesses, their strengths. I believe it is okay to form an opinion of someone, but when we are quick to do so, we might be doing it blindly. Instead, we must take the time to open our eyes and "develop the capacity to see men not as they are at present but as they may become", as taught President Monson.  President Monson tells on that talk about a successful missionary. When asked the reason of his success, he explained that he "would picture in his own mind what that man [or any person he contacted] would look like under a different set of circumstances." He then testified: "When I look at someone that way, I have the capacity to bear my testimony to him in a way that can touch his heart". Often the reason why we judge and criticize others is because we see they doing something different of what they should be doing, because we believe that by criticizing them they will learn the right way to do things and they will change. Sadly most of the time what happens is that people feel hurt, offended, and they ended up doing the exact opposite. If we really want to help, if we really want them to do good, to do right, to be as "perfect" as we think we are (which we are absolutely not!) thant maybe we should see them as how they can become, and having this vision in mind, we can be kind with them and that will invite the Spirit in the relationship and touch heart, helping all of us to become better and do better.

May we be kind with others, thus helping us to make new friends, from whom we might learn and grow.

Scriptures

Matthew 7:1-2
"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

Of course we are free to judge instead of censure. But remember, we shall be judged in the same way we judged others. No one is perfect, but if we expect others to live as WE think is the best way to live, and that we judge them because they are not doing what WE think is right, well, if WE fail to live according to that ideal we have fixed for others, we shall be judged according to that same measure. Just be kind! It will keep you away from regrets ;)

D&C 88:124
"Cease to find fault one with another"
Simply, do as President Utchdorf said: STOP IT!


About the author
The most famous author wrote this song: ANONYMOUS ;)
I can't wait to meet him/her someday and to thank him/her for this deep creation ;)