a little clarity for my beleaguered brain

So, I did a little hunting to find out about "backsliding," and it turns out to be a slightly misplaced translation in some ways. The instance I found in Jeremiah was referring primarily to the apostasy of the Hebrew people in turning away to worship false idols and rejected their God. Today's connotation for backsliding is much different. We tend to attach it any lapse in obedience to our professed standards. The original Hebrew word is meshuwbah, and it has a few meanings, but in this instance it was meant to mean "turning away," "turning back," or "apostasy." How did we turn it into a judgmental substitute for slacking? Probably by being judgmental in the first place, and we all know how much of that went during the middle ages. Look at the crusades.

Anyway, my hunt brought me to another scripture found in Galatians 6, verses 1 and 2:

1 Brethren, if a man be aovertaken in a bfault, ye which are spiritual, crestore such an one in the spirit of meekness; dconsidering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
 2Bear ye one another’s aburdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

At Christmas time, it should be easy for us to remember that our job is not to find fault or pass judgement, but to lift and help and assist a fellow traveler with their journey. I'm going to try a little harder. Because I'd like other people to look at my faults and weaknesses with a kind eye sometimes. Most of us are hard enough on ourselves as it is. Think how much we'd feel able to accomplish if we felt like everyone was rooting for our success. Might be worth trying.

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