What Do We Choose To See?

 I came across a question yesterday while preparing a workshop: what will happen when we think more about what is right with other people than what is wrong? Today, I found the same thought in another place: we decide what we want to see before we see it.

The same can said for attaching motives to someone else's mistakes. Attribution Theory maintains that generally we will conclude that another's misjudgment or error is due to some kind of character flaw, but we excuse ourselves by blaming circumstances. For example, someone else is late because they are thoughtless, but we are late because of heavy traffic. Of course, we should have made allowances for the possibility of a longer commute, but that's usually not the way we choose to see it.

Would that we were as kind to others as we are to ourselves! Whether we choose to focus on guilt - and we all have many reasons to be angry or hurt at the people who touch our lives - or a more benign explanation for their actions is up to us. Only the Holy Spirit can give us the strength to choose a loving response, but we must be willing to ask.

For today, I ask!