Licking the Razor's Edge (2015)

TIP #03: CARE FOR “CRIMINALS” …
Setting aside the fact that the vast majority of all convicted “criminals” did not perform
the deed for which they have been incarcerated, even if they did commit those crimes,
they are still worthy of our Compassion. And by “Compassion” I do not mean pity or
sympathy … by “Compassion” I do not mean mere tolerance … by “Compassion” I do
not mean a warm feeling or even a gentle thought. No, truly deep-seated Compassion is a
verb … It is either a courageous deed or it is nothing at all.
So when you see a “criminal” on television get his “just punishment”, have the humility
to feel Compassion for the plight that put him there. Have Compassion for the fact that he
most certainly suffered immensely before committing his crime, and have Compassion
for the suffering she most certainly felt immediately after committing it. Praying for
perpetrators is one method of doing so … Openly forgiving them in a written letter is
another. Of course, visiting them in person is the most powerful way to humbly
remember that these folks are people –- human beings who still deserve Kindness just as
much as you do.
When you come face to face with a man or woman in prison; when you have the humility
to listen intently to their stories and see firsthand how unfair their punishments are, you
will be forced to exude a level of compassionate forgiveness that will heal your own
broken Soul as much as it will theirs.
“Do not be eager to deal out death and judgment …
Even the very wise cannot see all ends.” ~ J. R. R. Tolkien
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