Leviticus 19:15: Do not pervert justice. Do not give special consideration to the poor nor show respect to the great. Judge your people fairly.
Last night we opened the in-laws 'Christmas' (HANUKKAH!!) presents, and a couple from us, despite well-founded theological and personal objections to the idea. Anyhow. We have one rule for toy gifts. It has two words: No batteries.
The in-laws sent Bug two toy gifts. With... right. I was annoyed. They just don't get it! I mean, FFS, they gave us Christmas ornaments as a wedding present. My MIL somehow is unable to comprehend that any dairy at all will make me violently, seriously ill. They expect us to conform to their every whim when we're all in the same place. They aren't trying hard enough!
Suddenly I heard a still, small voice whisper, "Judge one another favorably."
I'm willing to judge my friends and family (and spouse) favorably, with righteousness, because I love and respect them. But I should judge my in-laws as righteous people. They gave Bug those toys because they were imagining his delight. They gave us those ornaments because their own are cherished possessions. Perhaps that's the kind of relationship they had with their own parents.
They are trying.
(P.S. I'm pretty sure that was not the voice of God, but of my conscience.)
Thanks for sharing...as a mother-in-law myself, I know that it might be that some rather innocent things I do could be taken differently. I love that you are able to take the high road.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite quotes:
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
Plato
Yes, they are trying... very trying, as my father would say.
ReplyDeleteYou're right to judge that way. I have the same objections to battery-operated toys, so I'll often swap the toy for something that doesn't need batteries. If that fails, I find that my kids enjoy the battery-operated toys even when there are no batteries inside :)
Thanks for the shout-out, btw. I'm looking forward to reading more of your blog.
hmm, reading my last comment it seems a bit unclear. What I meant is that you're right to judge them favourably, and I commend you for doing it!
ReplyDeleteMy mother says the same thing.
ReplyDelete(We usually swap out the stuff we don't want but the recorded-book-Night-Before-Christmas is testing my resolution to be charitable, here. Oy.)
Hey Jenny,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the shout-out as well - I will definitely click through your blog!
Happy Chanukah.
Ruchi