Home
>
Spirituality
>
Distorted Perceptions

Distorted Perceptions

Often, in being dishonest about our own faults and failures, we have been far too insensitive and callous toward others who have fallen short. It is really unfair to others becuase all human judgment is partial, one-sided, and superficial.

When we judge others, we must realize that we are also judging ourselves. When we judge another, we are focusing on what is wrong with someone else in an attempt to shield or take the inner spotlight off of what is wrong with us.

A friend was sharing with me the other day how far God has brought Him over the years. He stated that there was a time when he would listen to his pastor's sermon and think about how his wife should be there to hear it as everything the pastor was preaching, he felt, related to her and he wondered why those that he felt needed to hear it, were never present.

He went on to relate how God revealed to him his own pride and slapped him across the face with the knowledge that each sermon he heard was for his ears, not his wife's.

Judging others reveal something unkind about us because we are making assumptions about others based on our distorted perception of what others should be like or how others should behave.

Judging others is the effect of our own ugly pride. Before pointing the righteous finger of accusation at someone else, remember that we all have personal deficits that we must continually work toward improving. The easiest thing in the world to do is find fault and we all know fault finders are a dime a dozen. Remember, we all have some skeletons in our inner closet dangling in wait to be discovered.

When tempted to focus on the shortcomings of others, STOP. Turn the magnifying glass on yourself. What you will see in yourself will temper your perception of others. You will begin to realize that it is not your sister or brother but you, who stand in the need of prayer. Keep in mind that the best scrutinizer of mankind is not man, but God. It is the omniscient God alone whose knowledge is thorough and absolutely just. Only God's judgment is perfect. Let us concentrate on rectifying our own lives and leave the faults of others to God.

Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. http://www.clergyservices4u.org. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, will be available soon.

maid service near Lake Forest ...

In The News:

Lyft rolled out safety upgrades with a new Safety Hub, driver blocking capability and a favorite driver option to give riders more control over their experience.

New research shows Americans increasingly trust AI for wellness guidance over social media, with 63% finding artificial intelligence reliable for health.

Luxury fashion brand Dior experienced a January 2025 data breach affecting customer personal information, and notifications were sent months after the discovery.

The commercial Unitree H1 humanoid robot weighs 104 pounds with 365 pound-feet torque per joint and demonstrates dangerous potential when software glitches occur.

Americans average 10-plus hours online daily, according to recent survey, splitting time between streaming shows on TV and browsing websites on multiple devices.

Boost your smartphone privacy instantly with these security tweaks for iPhone and Android that limit ad tracking, hide notifications and prevent unauthorized access.

Platforms like Hoax Tech and JS Click Cloaker help cybercriminals bypass detection systems using machine learning to selectively display scam content to victims.

A new battery recycling technique transforms old lithium-ion batteries into high-performance components that retain 88% capacity after 500 cycles with minimal waste.

Google's Android operating system can warn users about earthquakes before the shaking even begins – and there are ways to do it on your iPhone, too.

Meta's new gesture control wristband might just be the most seamless way to control a computer yet. And no, it doesn't require surgery, a camera, or even a touchscreen. All it needs is your wrist.

Long-haul trucks are now being upgraded with a surprising twist, thanks to California-based startup Revoy. Their electric boost doesn't replace diesel but works alongside it to cut emissions and fuel costs without major disruption.

PayPal and Venmo just rolled out something big: AI-powered scam alerts for Friends and Family payments.

As data centers multiply across the United States, energy demand is increasing at a rapid pace. This has not escaped the notice of large investment firms from Wall Street.

The Unicode Consortium, the nonprofit organization that maintains the Unicode Standard to ensure emojis work across devices, has announced Unicode 17.0, which includes nine new emojis slated for release this fall, in September 2025.

OpenAI is one of the world's leading AI research labs. Founded in 2015, it's behind some of today's most talked-about tools, including GPT, DALL·E, and ChatGPT.

Ever catch your dog staring at the screen during movie night and wonder if they're actually watching? Turns out, they might be. A new scientific study from Auburn University found that many dogs really do engage with television, and not all pups react the same way.

Stop the scammers from making contact in the first place. They're getting your parents' contact information and much more personal data besides, from somewhere.

The Walker S2 robot from UBTech autonomously exchanges its batteries in just three minutes, allowing continuous operation in car factories operated by BYD, Nio and Zeekr.

The FX Super One electric MPV from Faraday Future offers flexible seating, zero-gravity recliners and an AI system that creates a personal connection between driver and vehicle.

Practical solutions for reducing unwanted charity mail, political texts and email spam by opting out of shared lists, replying "STOP" and using data removal services.

Delta's new AI pricing system eliminates static airfares for personalized rates based on individual data, raising questions about fairness while promising optimized revenue.

AI data centers are straining the power grid across 13 states, contributing to a $9 billion increase in electricity costs, and PJM customers face monthly bill increases of $25 or more.

Artificial intelligence is transforming the music industry as AI-generated bands like The Velvet Sundown earn substantial streaming revenue, prompting lawsuits from major record labels.

Microsoft phishing scams use fake security alerts and links that redirect to credential-stealing pages with warning signs, including urgent language and unusual senders.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Distorted Perceptions

Spirituality