I tested the Sermon on the Mount by choosing a guideline that would be both important for me and hard for me, and trying to live by it, with reminders, for two weeks.
Here I report my guideline, my reason for choosing it, what it was like to concentrate on it for two weeks, and what I learned, understood, and can now plan that will help me stick with it in the days ahead:
My guideline was to Love your Enemies. This was a difficult act to follow. In my club swim team, there are two boys who get on my very last nerve. These two boys skip sets, mouth off, say rude and inappropriate things, and are downright annoying. Every time that they would do something, it took a lot for me to not say something, although last week one of them said something absolutely inexcusable so I did. While I have absolutely no desire to love these boys much less tolerate them, I have to. If Jesus can die for me, the least I can do is tolerate two 14-year-old boys. So, to continue tolerating them and others who I might find annoying or rude, I must remember that if Jesus can die for me, I can deal with two boys for two hours. It will be difficult, but I think I can do it.
ReplyDeleteJudging others- I picked this because I feel like I judge people too often.
ReplyDeleteI want to get better at seeing the good in people and not being so judgmental to people who are different from me and don’t see things like I do.
Judging others was kind of hard for me, since I think judging people comes natural to all of us. But I did find that i was seeing more good in people and not always focusing on the things i don’t like about the person. I think that if i continue not to judge others that i will learn the better side of people.
I decided that I was going to try not to judge. I originally thought it would be very hard for me. Daily, I make snap judgements about people, usually without even thinking about it. I decided that I was going to try and take a moment and not make those snappy judgements about people. I wanted to become more openminded, and that’s what I strived to do. Yet, as I tried not to judge, I became aware of just how many judgements I make on a daily basis. I judge my more timid classmates when they struggle to clearly articulate a point in English. I judge my teachers when they are late to class. I judge my friends when they make foolish statements. I judge all the time. But I was finally realizing this fact. I was finally aware that I was making rash judgements. I think awareness is the first step to stopping.
ReplyDeleteMy guide line was to not to judge others. I feel like this is important because judging someone most of the time leads to untrue and unwanted stigmas. This is also important because you decide to judge someone you can never get to know the really person they are will all of the already assumed ideas you have about this person. This is very hard for everyone because this is the natural way the human brain organizes information. Doing this was hard for me because I base my actions around people quite a bit on how I believe they will act. After doing this naturally for many years I found it hard and surprising, but refreshing to interact with a person without and thoughts about their or my mannerisms before. This was quite a challenge but refreshing and had given me a new outlook on people.
ReplyDeleteSermon on the Mount
ReplyDelete- Analysis of my experiment
My guideline was to love my enemies
□ But even more then that I wanted to not think of them badly for treating me poorly
□ I find it easier to begin to love someone I dislike but it's harder to like someone who dislikes me
I've realized that I may never truly love them, but I can think of them as children of God- I shouldn’t condemn them to ill will for their sins, God doesn’t- why should I?
- Why I chose it
In high school I find that there are many people and things that I don’t want to talk or think about, I subconsciously put them in a box and keep them there, sometimes I'm so displeased by something that I don’t think badly about it because I don’t think about it at all… I push it away as far as possible
□ I chose this law because I will never get anywhere in life if I can't learn to understand why people do what they do, it's easier to like someone if I can think about where they're coming from
- My solution
Don’t try to love someone straight away without thinking about why you disliked them to begin with, that will drive you crazy- first you must understand that person, treat them as a child of God- nothing less/ nothing more
The guideline that I followed was “The Light of the World” teaching.
ReplyDeleteI chose this teaching because I wanted to try my best to be good example for others, as well as let my actions glorify God.
This was not as hard as I thought it would be. I found myself smiling often and in a wonderful mood for most of the day, and I was a better friend and listener because I was in such a good mood. I was nicer to my brothers who, in turn, were nicer to me.
This teaching makes sense to me now because I think that this is what God wanted to happen in the beginning.If we are to be lights in the world, it first begins with kindness towards others. Kindness brings light to the world.
I chose to try to stop judging other people. I chose this because I have a tendency to make judgments about people based on one action or one thing I hear them say and never actually get to know the real person after that. I realized several things by trying to work on this commandment: I judge people without even thinking about it. One of my teachers made a huge mistake regarding a test today, and I instantly judged her for being so careless, but the truth is, I have no idea what her life is like. She could very well have a plausible reason for making that mistake, but it's none of my business. Even if she has no reason whatsoever, it's not my place to make judgments of her based off of this one issue. Second, by trying not to judge, I was able to see more good things about other people. instead of looking for the bad and being so critical, I have learned that there is something in everyone to praise them for, and you just have to look, a little hard sometimes, to find that. In closing, I realized that the standard I compare people to is my own. So, technically, this may or may not even be a good standard. Sure, I have standards I live by, but it's none of my business whether other people have moral/life standards as well, it's between them and God. This really taught me to leave things in God's hands because things are best there anyway. I'm going to try to continue working on this standard because it has helped me to have a more positive outlook and to trust God with more aspects of my life.
ReplyDeleteMy guideline was 'do not worry.' This was important to me because I worry constantly about everything, which in turn, makes me stressed and often causes me to be a not very nice person sometimes. It was very difficult for me because I often forgot not to worry - and then I would worry that I wasn't trying hard enough not to worry! However, I did try to realize that what I was worrying about (in most cases) wasn't worth worrying about and getting anxious over. These realizations I think are a step in the right direction as far as worrying less goes, and I hope to be able to stop worrying over every little thing in the future.
ReplyDeleteI chose "no eye for an eye" because I have a hard time letting things go without getting even so I thought trying to focus on letting things go would help me from being mean. It was hard a first to remember it and in the moment I would always lash out at someone if they did something to me first. After the first week it was quite a bit easier to remember but I still slipped up sometimes. I learned that a lot of the time you don't even think about it and when someone does something to you, you just automatically try to get them back for it. I want to continue trying to not always focus on revenge even though its difficult, I know that I can often get a temper with people and I want to try to work on that.
ReplyDeleteI chose to hunger and thirst for righteousness because, in theory I default to what I think is “doing the right thing” because it matters. But I don’t really think automatically about what is right and true and good – the best possible way of seeing and acting.
ReplyDeleteFollowing this guideline was really good for me, because I began to think more intentionally about important decisions, and I will need reminding not to forget in the days ahead – to REMEMBER!!!!!!!!!
i chose do not worry. The reason why i chose this is because i worry all the time. From what people think about me, school work, and athletics. When i tried to not worry for 2 weeks i noticed that it takes alot of stress off of you. This really helped because worrying doesnt solve any problem that you go through, and so the next time you stress just take things slow and dont worry or it will make matters worse.
ReplyDeleteI chose detachment from material pleasures as my guidline for these past two weeks. I constantly battle with my desires like food and shopping and I know that I was getting consumed by these. That is why I thought I need to put a stop to this because I am losing both my identity and my priorities. It was extremely difficult and trying to actually put this into action. I tried very hard to remind myself that there is no real value to these material things but when I see my peers shopping online or something like that I want to also. A few times I did succumb to my desires when I forgot that I was trying to mainting a detachment from material pleasures. I felt really guilty afterwards. I now understand how difficult it is for people to detach from this material world to become closer to God but I know I must implement it and I know that it will test my faith and strength as a person so I plan to continue doing this. I think that by simple reminders like little quotes or sayings help me to stay grounded and remember what my plan is but I also know thatthere will be times that I will slip up and that is okay, just as long as I move on.
ReplyDeleteThe Sermon on the Mount guideline that I chose was to take the narrow gate instead of the wide one. I chose it because I've had a lot of trouble lately with taking the easy way out of things instead of doing what is more difficult, even if what is difficult is right. I started out with the little things - instead of having "senioritis," I would actually do my calculus homework, even though he doesn't check to see if we do it. I actually studied for my tests instead of taking them blindly with an indifferent attitude. But the real difference came when I was faced with personal issues in my life where I had to make the choice between being bitter about my situation or being optimistic and not letting my bad attitude affect other people. For a couple days last week I really struggled to take the hard way instead of the easy way - I was dealing with a really difficult situation and I kept wanting to lash out at people for not understanding or for being oblivious. I had to remind myself that everyone walks a different road, and even though the easy thing to do would be to resent others for not being considerate of my situation, I managed to keep my personal issues personal instead of possibly ruining relationships.
ReplyDeleteI found that the easiest way to take the narrow gate is to look forward and ask myself, "how will this situation end if I do what is right, or how will it end if I do what is easy?
I chose not to seek revenge for large or small things that people may do. I chose this because I tend to seek to see justice served to those who do wrong to others. I do this without even consciously knowing that I want that person to have to go through as much work as I had, or something around those lines. Too many times it happens where someone forgets her homework and I instantly get frustrated at the fact that I had to work so hard on it last night and that she didn't even do it, when in reality I forget to do my homework sometimes too! By trying not to seek revenge I was forced, in a good way, to open my mind up to other things. I created this peace about me thinking that I do not have to serve justice on others, because in time Jesus will. It won't be harsh or anything that I would have done, but they will, later in life, have to go through obstacles. I have also learned to see the good in people who may frustrate me or might make me want to seek revenge. I try to imagine if I were in their place and how so many things my be distracting me. By trying to look at everything in a different way I have learned to just step away from other people's lives and just let God deal with it. Although I still do seek revenge sometimes, I am still trying to work on this guideline and base my actions on it.
ReplyDeleteAsk, seek, and knock. I guess I chose these words because I am the type of girl who expects things to come to her. I act as if I am the center of the universe, and that everything must be placed before my feet on a silver platter. By carrying out the asking aspect, things will actually come to me in the right manner, I just have to wait for it. Aside from asking, I must also seek. If something does not come to me right away, I should try to go out and search for what I hunger for. Even though it might take some time, my goal will hopefully be accomplished. Knocking. Instead of barging into a situation with no idea how to act, I should consider what I am doing before doing it. Basically my actions thus far have been hectic and impatient, but by enforcing asking, seeking, and knocking in my life, I believe that my entire outlook will change.
ReplyDeleteI choose not to worry for two weeks. My worrying is out of control. I did worry about what I look like or what other people think of me. I tried really hard not to over dress or under dress. I have a constant need for everything to be perfect. This includes people and events. I was always worried that things didn’t meet or exceed my expectations. My needs were based on my worries which caused a lot of stress in my daily life. So when I read this in the Sermon on the Mount, I thought this would be a perfect. I learned to not care so much and maybe let other people care about things for a while. Everything does not rest on my shoulders, but rather the shoulders of other and most importantly God. My responsibility is in my own life. I did worry a little because worrying was a part of my life, but it was about important things like school. Without worrying a weight was lifted off of me. I learned that I could go on with it. My life wasn’t like a pressure cooker of worrying and now I think I can continue worrying less and caring about myself and my relationship with God more.
ReplyDeleteMy guideline to follow was To Be The Light of the World. At first, it was hard. I had difficulty letting my light shine. But I wanted to try and set a good example for people, especially my brother. I began to smile at him and ask him how his day was when he came home. If he needed someone to listen to him, then I would listen. If he needed advice, then I gave my best advice to him. It honestly is a first for me. And because of this, I saw him being in a better mood and following the actions that I had done. If that makes sense. Change starts with one person who then is followed by others. People instinctively follow light. My light shined and my brother followed.
ReplyDeleteThe guideline that I chose to follow was to be a light of God. I chose this because when people look at me, I want them to see God. What I have been doing these last 2 weeks to practice this is just to smile. Even though this sounds very simple, it can truly change someone's outlook on the day. I want to show my happiness that I receive from God and I want other people to feel this too. Another thing I tried to do was to offer advice; but instead of looking at a situation from my point of view, I look at it from God's point of view. I just want to focus on what He wants for my life and I trust in Him enough to lead me on the right path. I want to continue trying different things to show his light to others.
ReplyDeleteI chose love your enemies as my guideline to follow. This is something difficult to do but is extremely beneficial. Negative thoughts and feelings tend to be overwhelming and effect your entire life. When you're focused on your negative feelings towards someone you immediately become consumed with them. It becomes impossible to enjoy any time with them and your poor attitude causes a chain reaction in which others will feed off of your pessimistic attitude towards these people. On the contrary when you focus on the positives about someone it improves your entire mood. Why should we waste any time not loving someone? In God's eyes everyone of us is beautiful and worth unfailing love. We were created in God's image, so when you hate someone you're hating God's creation. You're hating someone that He loves dearly and that Jesus thinks is to die for. When you begin to love your enemies you'll find that they can all have a positive effect on your life, and that it is simply wasteful to spend your time harboring hateful feelings towards them.
ReplyDelete