Black and White

“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

1 Corinthians 13:13

In the last month, several events that appear to be random and unrelated have caused me to think more deeply about how I evaluate my thoughts.  In this case, the random events involved the colors black and white.  The idiom “black and white” denotes a clear choice or to be clearly defined or concrete.  In the past, I have seen others as being good or evil, a clear choice of white versus black.  But it is not always as simple as that.  In today’s society, it is hard to interpret actions as good or evil because there are so many narratives or versions of the facts.

For me, determining actions often comes down to evaluating intent.  Does someone intend to hurt or help others?   But often it can be difficult to determine intent.  Sometimes someone is careless, uninformed, blind to or ignoring other’s needs, or driven by their own pain.  This results in actions that are hurtful to others.  I have been all these things in my life.  I can only hope that with maturity, I now choose my thoughts and actions more carefully.  In evaluating other’s intentions, I also have to recognize I do not always have all the information that would allow me to reach a conclusion.  In those cases, I need to ask God to fill me with the Holy Spirit, pray, and let his plan unfold through others while remembering all of us, including me, need God’s love and forgiveness.