Taking Measure

Sometimes our measure of things is confused.  I'm not talking about objects necessarily, but about anything we gauge.  How we measure depends upon our orientation and upon our reason for measuring.  We gauge things from within the confines of our own "box" -- this shell in which we live which consists of our body and cumulative experience.

An example:  If I need a board to cover a window during a hurricane, I am not particularly concerned with the accuracy of the measurement.  If the window is 3' X 5' the board needs to be slightly larger.  However, if I need the board to fit inside the window frame and yet cover the space completely, the measurements need to be exact, or very nearly so.

If I am building a gate and need a miter cut for a 45 degree angle for the cross brace, the cut needs to be very close to 45 degrees, but doesn't have to be exact.  After all, it is a gate and wear and tear will eventually show and I am not worried about it being perfect -- just close.  But, if I am building a piece of fine furniture and need a miter cut, it needs to be virtually flawless.  The joining of the wood should be so exact as to be invisible.

If my task is to fill a space, sometimes the answer is to find a pliable substance that can conform to that space rather than a rigid material that must be cut exactly.  Sometimes we need to consider why we are taking measure.

We judge things around us in the same way.  We gauge them -- take their measure.  We do this with people too even though we don't think about it in the same way.  How we judge -- take their measure -- depends on our relationship to them.

Sometimes our judgment comes from a rigidity that is built from experience completely different from the one we are judging.  We often don't realize the rigidity is defensive in nature -- it comes from out of the forces that have shaped us.

When we find ourselves judging harshly -- rigidly -- perhaps the first question we should ask is why?  What has caused us to have such a strong, rigid opinion?  Is it due to a past experience, is it merely a perception shaped by others, or is it an issue of right and wrong based on principle?  If principle, we must ask from where that principle comes.  Is it Biblical, is it societal, or was it shaped by our specific associations such as racially biased parents?

There is a lot of misunderstanding going on in the world today.  We measure motive and individuals on assumptions that may be flawed.  Sometimes the first measure needs to be of ourselves.