LABELS

James 4:11-12

My friends, don’t say cruel things about others! If you do, or if you condemn others, you are condemning God’s Law. And if you condemn the Law, you put yourself above the Law and refuse to obey either it or God who gave it. God is our judge, and he can save or destroy us. What right do you have to condemn anyone?

One sin we commit against our fellowmen is slander o paninirang-puri. Yung pagsasabi ng lahat ng mga kapangitan, kasiraan, kasamaan ng isang tao na hindi naman nabibigyan ng pagkakataong ipagtanggol ang kanyang sarili dahil hindi naman siya present. Napakabilis manirang-puri at mag-pass ng judgment.

Passing judgment is oversimplification. Pag sinabi mo, “Masama yang taong yan,” oversimplification yun, dahil siguradong may mabuti rin sa kanya. Siguradong may kagandahang-loob yan sa ilang tao kahit kung minsan may kapangitang-loob siya sa iba. Pag may alam kang tatlong tao na hindi nabayaran ng isang nangungutang kahit nagbayad naman pala siya sa pito, at sasabihin mo, “Naku, manunuba yan,” it’s an oversimplification. Madalas ganyan tayo ka-unfair sa ating kapwa.

You cannot oversimplify a person because he/she is complex. The moment you oversimplify many things about a person, you begin to give that person a label. And the moment you label a person, that’s already slander. You don’t respect the person kasi binibigyan mo lang siya ng label according to your biases and what you have heard many people say which you never probably experienced yourself.

Christians should never indulge in slandering people. Nobody can be perfect as to be perfectly wrong or perfectly evil. Kasi perfection na yun. At walang taong perfect.