Communication
Is Complicated

Mary Ann Collins
(A Former Catholic Nun)

February 2004

People think differently. Our minds work differently. We interpret what we read based on our knowledge and personal experience. If we aren't careful, we may make assumptions, or jump to conclusions.

Please don't read things into my articles that I haven't said. For example, when I say that a person did something, all I am doing is describing actions that can be objectively verified. I am not attributing motives to people. I can't do that, because I don't know the people.

For example, one reader asked why the Pope made a particular statement. I don't know what the Pope was thinking about. His life is so different from mine that I can't relate to it. He probably had things on his mind that I wouldn't understand if he told me about them. I am not a mind reader. I don't know the Pope's motives

My website discusses the Inquisition. What the Inquisitors did was bad. However, only God is qualified to judge the men who did it. There is a difference between people and their actions. Sometimes people who do bad things are looking for God, but we would never recognize it because of their behavior. The Apostle Paul is an example. Before his conversion, he persecuted Christians to the death.

Another example is a man who interrogated prisoners and tortured them. One of his victims told him about Jesus Christ. (I believe that it may have been Pastor Richard Wurmbrand in Communist Romania. However, I'm not sure because I read the story years ago.) The torturer became a Christian. It took a lot of courage to do that. He knew that he would probably be put in prison, where he would be at the mercy of men he had tortured.

According to the Bible, people can do bad things, but mistakenly think that they are doing good things. The Bible says,

"...yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." (John 16:2)

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

Only God is qualified to judge people. Our job is to love them. Jesus told us that we should even love our enemies. He said,

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Matthew 5:44; also see Luke 6:27-28)

That is why one of the first articles I wrote for this website was the one about forgiveness. Once we forgive people, then it becomes easier to love them.

APPENDIX

The following story illustrates the complexities of communication. (I don't remember the source of the story.)

A farmer wanted to sell his horse, so he and his son took the horse to market. The farmer rode on the horse, and his son walked beside him. As they were going on their way, they met a man who said to the farmer, "What kind of father are you, making your son walk while you ride?"

So the farmer got off the horse and let his son ride. As they continued on their way, they met a man who said to the son, "Don't you have any respect for your father? How can you ride while he is walking?"

So the farmer and his son both rode on the horse. Then they met a man who said, "How can you treat your horse that way? It isn't right to expect your horse to carry two full-grown men!"

So the farmer and his son got off of the horse and walked beside it. When they got to market, nobody wanted to buy the horse. The people said, "That horse can't be any good if you won't even ride it."

USE OF THIS ARTICLE

I encourage you to link to this article. You have permission to quote from this article, as long as you do it fairly and accurately. You have permission to make copies of this article for friends and for use in classes.

Copyright 2004 by Mary Ann Collins. All rights reserved.

www.CatholicConcerns.Com
e-Mail: MaryAnnCollins@Juno.Com