Experience

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

Your Experiences are of value. So are mine. We just have to be able to step back and look at them objectively. That is the hard part.

We can gain from our experiences. We can also let our experiences block us off from things that could be of value.

Example One

You go to Church and some self righteous, hypocritical person puts you down for the way you dress, or because you don’t believe exactly like them. That is a bad Experience.

If your conclusion is: God is some uptight, rules driven being who is out to condemn you for anything you do. Then this will block you off from finding out that God sent Jesus in the world not to condemn us, but to have an abundant life through him. And you probably won’t find out that God wants a relationship with each of us.

If your conclusion is: There are some real Turkeys in Churches. I don’t know why God puts up with them. Then you might be able to fight through that type of person and find some who love God, who know that God loves them in spite of some of the things they have done, and that he cares about you the same way. Oh, and God is patient even with those pain in the neck people who are so quick to point out what they think are your faults, while ignoring their own faults. But don’t think that his patience is weakness, he will call everyone into account for their thoughts and actions. There will be some  people who think they are really good that God will say “go away from me, I don’t even know you.”

Example Two

You go out on a date and the guy is a pig, a jerk, a total reject. If your conclusion is that all guys are pigs, jerks, total rejects, then you would miss out on the possibility of finding a good guy who is worth having a relationship with.

Sorry girls, but 98% of the guys give the rest of the guys a bad reputation.

If your conclusion is: All guys are jerks, and that this one isn’t as bad as some guys, then you will end up in a relationship with a pig, a jerk, a total reject.

If your conclusion is: This particular guy is a reject, but there must be some guy out there who is worth being in a relationship with. Then you probably will continue looking and might find someone worthwhile.

Final thought: Learn from the mistakes and experiences of others. You can’t live long enough to make all the mistakes yourself.