People in glass houses don’t throw stones

There’s no Richter scale for sinning, for mistakes, or for wrongdoings. As humans, we tend to judge another based on our preconceptions of severity for errors and meaningful misdeeds. We may look at an alcoholic, drinking away his life savings as we pack in a few more mini hamburgers, and scold him in our heads. Are these both not examples of gluttony? Everyone, and their brother, has probably told you that people in glass houses should not throw stones. Imagine, there on your lofty hill, seeing someone lying or boasting in the valley below. As you cast your stone, do you take a moment to look around you? Few of us realize, that the moment we cast our stone, the whole world is watching that rock crash through the fragile crystalline walls around us. In a world where transparency is valued as much as fact, platforms such as Facebook or Instagram become that much more dedicated to showcasing who we are as individuals, to better get an estimate of our social worth. Many folks chase after validation through meaningful reblogs or pseudo-intellectual insights strung together from a crossroads of well-meaning suggestions and a virtue signal of self-righteousness. In reality, not one of us is any cleaner than the other in the eyes of the real Judge, we’re all just rolling around in the mud.

I’m sure you’ve also had someone tell you to watch yourself when you call out the splinter in the eye of your brother when you have a plank of wood in your own. None of us has the right to lord ourselves over another, but so many people get caught up in the great rat race to the top of the pedestal that we forget for a moment the oblique truth of our own humanity. We are all just as capable of making a mistake or succumbing to temptation. From this innate desire to be superior, we are compelled to assign arbitrary worth to the people around us, and even revel in the moral or fiscal successes over others. In truth, there is nothing more worthwhile than investing your effort and concern in another human, as opposed to watching them fail and stumble. A kind word, humbly given can be all a person needs to adjust their path. Next time you see someone tripping about in the dusty streets below, think before you cast that stone from your glass living room.