judgments

I can be far too judgmental. Case in point - whenever I've read the story of Nephi breaking his bow and his brothers being angry with him, I have judged his brothers harshly. How dare they be angry with him? Didn't they also break their bows? It's not Nephi's fault!

Yet today as I read that account, I was filled with empathy for his brothers. They were just being human! How often have I been frustrated, scared, upset (fill in the blank with your own adjective) and taken it out on the wrong person? Nephi's bow breaking probably just caused his brothers to panic. How will we get food? We are going to starve to death!

We've probably all had similar "natural man" reactions in times of great stress. I remember several years ago, on Valentine's Day, I was sick. To truly set the stage: I was sick but trying to make Valentine's Day memorable for my children by carrying on with traditions which involved me cooking and driving and delivering. Kevin was out of town so it wasn't a romantic day for me. I felt lousy and the house was freezing because the heater had broken the day before. I had just gotten off the phone with the repair company who confessed that they had forgotten to come fix it and now couldn't come until the following day. I reached my breaking point and what did I do?

I thought my lovely daughter, McKayla, did something (it turned out to be Alec) and I got very upset with McKayla. I lost it. Over something that was: NOT. HER. FAULT. I still feel very badly about it.

Wasn't this much like Nephi's brothers? How can I judge them so harshly when I, myself, am guilty of the same crime? It humbles me to recognize that I may have more in common with Nephi's brothers than with Nephi himself. I hope I can do better at putting off the "natural man" and also remember to give others a break!