Doing The Same Thing?

It seems like two people are arguing about backpacks and you just feel like telling both of them to stop.

One student meanly jokes about how cheap her classmate’s backpack looks and another classmate replies by saying she doesn’t think that comment is funny.

Christians, many times in life, you might see two people who look like they are doing the same thing, and it might be something that is distracting or irritating you.  However, what one person is doing can be very different from what the other person is doing in a key way.  It is important to spot that difference so that you can offer help where help is needed instead of mistakenly pointing a finger. 

Consider a conflict at school.  One student meanly jokes about how cheap her classmate’s backpack looks and another classmate replies by saying she doesn’t think that comment is funny.  Irritated by the distraction, another student might be tempted to tell them both to stop arguing.

However, it would be best to say something to deescalate the situation and not something to make both sides look like they were doing something wrong.  Someone who doesn't care as much about who is being made fun of and what people are trying to do in a situation like that might just judge both people together.  However, as Christians, we want to try to see more as God does and less carelessly than what might otherwise be more natural to us.