Why is EVERYONE so MEAN!!!!

What do you see? A man entered a village and went to the monastery on the edge of town, where he was welcomed by an old monk, the wise man of the village. The visitor said, “I am deciding whether I should move here or not. I’m wondering what kind of neighborhood this is. Can you tell me about the people here?” The old monk said, “Tell me what kind of people lived where you came from.” The visitor said, “Oh, they were highway robbers, cheats and liars.” The monk said, “You know, those are exactly the same kinds of people who live here.” The visitor left the village and never came back. Half an hour later, another man entered the village. He sought out the wise old man and said, “I’m thinking of moving here. Can you tell me what kind of people live here?” Again the monk said, “Tell me what kind of people lived where you came from.” The visitor said, “Oh, they were the kindest, gentlest, most compassionate, most loving people. I shall miss them terribly. The old monk said, “Those are exactly the kinds of people who live here, too.” This is the story I share with the congregation every time new members join Faith Presbyterian Church. I explain that there is no perfect church and that we are all imperfect sinners saved by a perfect Savior. In essence, if you are joining the church with the expectation that “this’ church is faultless, then you will be disappointed. The Apostle Paul concludes his Epistle to the Corinthians with the following admonition,” Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (II Cor. 13:5). Paul wants us to think critically about our life. The book of James echos this teaching when he writes, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like” (Jm. 1:22-24). The idea is for you and me to take an honest look at ourselves. A person's perspective colors their entire life.  Everyone you know is living with an invisible set of sunglasses on their face that shades how they see life around them.  Taken further, you could also add a set of earbuds filtering how one hears and takes in information.  While looking at ourselves honestly, we will discover many things: some delightful, some painful. A great way to gain perspective on yourself is by listening to those around you whom you love and trust. If you ask them, you will receive proper feedback.  Self-reflection becomes vital to healthy relationships because if one is not in touch with themselves to some degree, then they run the risk of distorting everything around them. Let us circle back to the story at the beginning of this article; one lesson that we can gain is that what you see is what you get. Both men experienced the same community of people yet had a contrary viewpoint on them. Have you ever noticed that two people can go through the very same thing yet experience it very differently? A primary reason is how you see the world. Stephen Covey teaches in his book, The 8th Habit, the following, “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In those choices lie our growth and our happiness.” As you travel through life, do you relate more with the first or the second traveler?