I recently came across a very powerful short story by the famous Taoist, Lieh Tzu.

A POINT OF VIEW

There was once a poor woodcutter who made his living cutting firewood in the forest to sell in the town.  One morning he woke up, had his tea and rice gruel and went to take up his ax in order to go into the forest.  But he could not find it anywhere.  He searched high and low, inside and out but could not find it.

Oh no, he thought to himself, someone has stolen it!  Just then he notices the man who lived next door walking by.  As he looked at him the woodcutter seemed to notice, for the first time, how shifty he looked.  His eyes seemed to dart back and forth and he walked with his head down and his shoulders scrunched together and moved in a crab-like way down the lane.

It’s funny, the woodcutter thought, that I have never before noticed how guilty and downright criminal my neighbor looks.  As the neighbor scuttled off, the wood cutter decided to follow him.  On and on they went until, as the sky passed slowly overhead, the wood cutter suddenly lost sight of the thieving neighbor. 

Drat, he thought, I’ve lost him!  He’s probably gone to visit his hideout, where he keeps all his stolen goods.  The woodcutter waited awhile, in case the thief showed up again but finally he decided to go on home and confront the thief when he showed up again.

As he walked home, the woodcutter reflected on his neighbor.  It was funny that he had never noticed before now, what a bad egg his neighbor was.  To think that for all this time he had lived next door to a thief!

When the woodcutter arrived home he went to hang up his coat when his foot collided with something heavy and sharp on the floor behind the rice basket.  Looking down, he found, to his amazement, that it was the missing ax.  He must have left there the night before when he had been preparing dinner.

Just then the neighbor was seen returning home.  As the woodcutter stood there, ax in hand, he noticed that a friendly and open face now replaced the guilty, shiftless look he had seen earlier.  His head and shoulders were a bit lopsided, it was true, but that was probably due to the heavy work he did carrying bales of rice all day down at the marketplace.

The neighbor waved to the woodcutter as he went by but the woodcutter turned away, weighed down with shame for his own thoughts about this innocent man.[1]

This reminded me of another story that I once read of a famous Hasidic Rabbi (unfortunately I do not recall the source).  It was the story of a well respected, well beloved rabbi who had become very popular among the people and was gaining in influence and disciples.  A number of other local rabbis were becoming jealous of this popular rabbi.  These local rabbis decided that if they did not want to lose all of their disciples to this new rabbi they had better do something quickly. So, shortly after Yom Kippur, a time of intense fasting and prayer considered to be the holiest day of the year, these rabbis claimed that they saw the beloved rabbi eating and drinking on Yom Kippur, and that he had a young girl on his lap and was kissing her!  This story spread like wildfire throughout the community.  Everyone was in an uproar.  How could this be?  Is it true that the beloved Rabbi was eating and drinking on the day of Yom Kippur!  Could it truly be that there was a young girl, not his wife, on the lap of the beloved rabbi and that he was kissing her?!  Oh what scandal.  The local rabbis all agreed as witnesses to the report.  Everyone was shocked and demanded an accounting from the beloved rabbi.  The elders of the town went to the rabbi’s house and beckoned him to appear before their counsel.  Shock, anger, resentment, and shame confronted the once beloved rabbi as he walked to the council of elders, where his accusers sat smugly among the elders.   One after the other the local rabbis affirmed their testimony…that they had indeed observed the beloved rabbi eating and drinking on the Day of Yom Kippur.  And yes, they had observed a young female sitting on his lap and he was kissing her!  The crowd gasped, while some ripped their garments and cried out.  Then the elders called the beloved rabbi to the stand.  The elders asked him if he had heard the testimony against him.  He calmly answered yes.  Then, the elders asked, do you admit that what the witnesses have declared is true?   To everyone’s amazement and horror the beloved rabbi answered, Yes!  Again the crowds groaned and gasped.  Then, said the elders, do you have any explanation for this abominable behavior?  Again the rabbi answered yes.  This year, he said, Yom Kippur fell on the Sabbath.  According to our traditions, one is not to fast on the Sabbath because it is to be a delight.  So when a fast day falls on the Sabbath, the fast is postponed to the following day.  Therefore, since Yom Kippur fell on Sabbath, we ate and drank on the Sabbath and postponed the fast of Yom Kippur until the following day, as did all of you.  As for the young girl on my lap, she was my 2 year old granddaughter, who was celebrating her birthday.  I had just blessed her with a very special present and to my delight, she jumped into my lap kissed me and thanked me.  As for these witnesses, they did indeed see what they reported because we had invited them to celebrate Sabbath and our granddaughter’s birthday with us.  So I confirm all that they have said.  With this, a great hush fell over the crowd and the only sound heard was that of the tears and sobs of the evil intended witnesses who in jealousy and fear allowed their yetzer hara (evil inclination) to rule over them.

These two stories deal with the matter of perception.  The neighbor of the woodcutter had done nothing wrong and changed nothing about himself from one day to the next.  Yet in the eyes of the woodcutter, because of his own changed circumstances, his perception of the neighbor changed first to evil and then again to good while his perception of himself changed from good to evil.  In the second story, it was the people and followers of the beloved rabbi who changed their perception of the rabbi based upon a true (yet very incomplete) account of events designed to mislead the people and discredit the rabbi.  We would do well to learn from these stories.  What we see and what we hear are often limited.  Rarely do we know the whole truth; rarely do we see the whole picture. We may recall poor Chavah in the Garden of Eden who trusted her own perception of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. (Genesis 3:6 KJV)

 Had Chavah been able to see what YHWH saw from his infinite perspective the story of the scriptures may have been quite different.  Like Chavah we are often seduced by our yetzer harah (evil inclination), or our carnal nature, to trust our own finite and fallen perceptions of a matter.  We often forget that we see through the glass dimly.

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. (1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV)

Until we are able to see YHWH face to face and know his perfect will our perceptions are imperfect and clouded and should not be trusted.  Therefore we should hold judgment until divine clarity is given. 

Jean-Pierre De Caussade elegant teachings on the incompleteness of our perceptions is recorded in the book Abandonment to Divine Providence.  Caussade taught,

We, if we be holy, are the paper; our sufferings and our actions are the ink.  The workings of the Holy Spirit are his pen, and with it he writes a living gospel; but it will never be read until that last day of glory when it leave the printing press of this life. 

And what a splendid book it will be—the book the Holy Spirit is writing! The book is on press and never a day passes when type is not set, ink applied and pages pulled.  But we remain in the light of faith.  The paper is blacker than the ink and the type is pied; the language is not of this world and we understand nothing.  We shall be able to read it only in heaven.  We could understand something of the complexity of God’s activity if we could see our fellow humans not just as they appear superficially but in their very essence and see, too, how God is working on and within them.  Yet there are difficulties.  How can we read this book when its letters are unknown, of infinite variety and upside down, and it pages smeared with ink?  Just think what in infinite number of different and worthwhile books are produced by the mixing up of twenty-six letters.  We cannot understand this wonder, so how can we comprehend what God is doing in the universe?  How can we read and understand so vast a book, one within its tiny shape, contains the most profound mysteries? We can neither see nor feel these mysteries. Only by faith can they be known.  And it is by their origin that faith judges how true and good they are, for in themselves these mysteries are so obscure that our mere reason can understand nothing of them.[2]

Jean-Pierre De Caussade is speaking of the Sovereign’s divine and perfecting work in our own lives as a mystery beyond our ability to understand or see clearly from our present perspective.  If this is so for the Sovereign’s work in our own lives how much more so is it true of his work in the lives of others beyond our vision and understanding to comprehend.  From our limited perspective we cannot see what the Father sees.  We must therefore trust his judgments not our own. 

The scriptures repeatedly warn of the dangers of relying upon one’s own perception and judgments.

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. (Proverbs 12:15 KJV)

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 14:12 KJV)

There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 16:25 KJV)

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but YHWH pondereth the hearts. (Proverbs 21:2 KJV)

An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered. (Proverbs 11:9 KJV)

He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him. (Proverbs 18:17 KJV)

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9 KJV)

Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear YHWH, and depart from evil. (Proverbs 3:7 KJV)

Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him. (Proverbs 26:12 KJV)

The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out. (Proverbs 28:11 KJV)

When we hear such stories as those above we should be inspired to exercise patience, caution, and discernment prior to judgment.  We must remember that even the shoftim (judges) of Israel were not to make up their own judgments on a matter or follow what the majority was saying.  The shoftim were called to make a diligent inquiry into a matter, find all of the facts, hear all of the witnesses and testimony, search the Torah and then exercise and declare the judgment of YHWH upon the matter.  

Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment: (Exodus 23:2 KJV)

And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. ¹⁷ Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it. (Deuteronomy 1:16-17 KJV)

Whether we like to admit it or not, we are all egocentric.  We all see the world from our own finite and fallen perspective.  Our trials are always greater than our neighbors, our pain always hurts more than our brother’s, our ideas are always more brilliant than others, our intent always more innocent than the next person’s, our actions more righteous and just than those around us, our perceptions keener than all others and our judgments always favorably declare ourselves to be justified in every action.  While we may assess ourselves as such—to be sure this is not how YHWH sees us.  It is our nature to justify ourselves and our perceptions.  Through numerous trials and tribulations, however, we learn what we are and what we are not.  It is sometimes in the light of the fiery furnace of calamity and persecution that we see ourselves as we really are—weak, finite, frightened, and fallen, and in desperate need of the Father’s grace and mercy. YHWH has a way of breaking through the deceitfulness of self-perception and revealing the truth as only he can see it. 

We must be very careful relying upon our limited perceptions of our selves or others.  We must be cautious in relying upon our own perspective in every matter. We must be careful not to jump to conclusions based upon our limited understanding. We would do well to hold our judgments of others until the Sovereign One has revealed the whole truth.  We should not trust our own ears, eyes, understanding, counsel, or heart, for they are limited and deceptive. Nor should we believe the testimony of one witness…even if that witness is oneself. We would do better to reserve judgment and allow the Sovereign One to search out the matter and reveal his judgment which, we may rest assured, will be righteous and just.  We must guard our ears, our eyes, and most of all lips, so that we do not make judgment hastily and later have to recant, repent and restore the damage we have done a brother by our finite judgments.  Patience in such matters is truly a virtue.

[1] Tales From the Tao, Solala Towler Editor “A Point of View” by Lieh Tsu,  Fall River Press, Pp. 194-196

[2] Abandonment to Divine Providence, Jean-Pierre De Caussade Image Books Doubleday, Pg 45