Why Can’t We All Just Get Along

We may believe we are good people and we tend to get along with everyone; however, we need to examine our thoughts and judgments we have about others more closely. We need to recognize that our first impression of someone may be based on something we heard they did or something they said we believed was inappropriate.

John 7:24 “Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.”

It is wrong to have bad thoughts about someone, and then treat them as if we really care about them. It is wrong to act as if we are loving and kind, and then talk about them behind their backs. It is wrong to make judgments in our mind about them and think we are better than them because what we do or say is different than what they do and say.

Rather than being judgmental, we need to remember we don’t have all the facts. We don’t know everything that God knows. We don’t know even if what we are thinking or what we are hearing is, in fact, true. We don’t know that the opinions we have formed in our minds are even on target with who that person really is.

Rather than thinking badly about someone, we need to realize we don’t know their circumstances. When others do or say something that we don’t approve of, we don’t really know their situation and background which caused them to act the way they did. We need to talk with them and see what we can find out about them first hand so that we can find out more information.

Rather than thinking something we shouldn’t about another person, we should find out what we have in common with them. There is always something that we have in common. We may know someone they know. We may have grown up close to an area they grew up. We may like some of the same things. We never know what we have in common with others until we take time to find out more about them.

We need to all be able to get along. We need to remember none of us are perfect and we all have made mistakes and will continue to make mistakes. We need to love others no matter what they did or what we think of them. When we take time to get to know them and find commonalities, we won’t be so quick to condemn. Many times the things we condemn others about are things we are doing ourselves.

Romans 2:1 “You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things.”

We all have sinned. We have all made mistakes. To think that we are better or that we would never do something someone else did is ridiculous. When we are put in certain circumstances and have to take action quickly, we could possibly do just what the other person did. We really don’t have time to spend worrying or talking about what others do. We just need to be sure that we are doing what God wants us to do.

Rather than being concerned with what others do wrong, we need to examine our own lives, get along with them and do the things which are in line with what God wants us to do. When we keep our noses clean, God will help us to be a better witness for Him in other peoples’ lives rather than judging them and being so concerned about what they do and say. Then we can be who He wants us to be and He will help us make a difference.