Principles – “The Other Considerations” – Saturday 6th of May, 2017

   We tackled at the previous article the importance of fair judgment on people we deal with so do not judge them according to their outer appearance only. Also, one should not be impulsive as well but should consider all the other possibilities.

   We commenced telling the story of a teacher asking a child about how many apples he would have if she gave him an apple and an apple and another apple. The child then answered that he would have four then the answer was the same every time the same question was proposed. On a third trial, the teacher tried to change the fruit so she asked the child that if she gave him an orange and an orange and another orange then how many oranges he would have and to her amusement the child gave the right answer that he would have three. So she decided to repeat the same question using the apples, so the child started counting happily and with confidence saying that he would have 4.Hence the teacher asked in despair, “How is this supposed to be true?”The child said, “You gave me three apples and mom gave me another one this morning so now I have four”.

   The teacher’s problem was putting in her mind that only one answer would be true, but she never thought of other possibilities or considerations that the child may have been thinking of.

   This is a real problem with some people. They only saw one face for life and they judge people according to their own opinions. Never do they think that there may be other possibilities or circumstances they know nothing about. Therefore, their judgments are so far from reality while they could have listened to the views of others and understand their circumstances first so that they would have realized the reasons beyond their reactions and be fair in their judgment.

   Before you judge others, try to comprehend their nature. Some people are not capable of expressing their opinions in words but in actions; while others prefer to be silent as they would never find the suitable words to fully express their feelings.

   At the same time, do not consider people’s words only but try to compare their actions to their words so you shall not be deceived. Some people may impress you by their sweet talk; however their actions reflect their dishonesty toward you. So be careful! people’s show their true selves amidst the difficult circumstances they may have as the saying goes, “Loyalty cannot be tested according to what one sees, but what one cannot see” this is, the people who respect you in your absence…to be continued..

General Bishop

Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center