Avoiding Helping the Devil

18 January 2009

Paulo Coelho

"- We are often instruments of evil when we try to do good - said Al-Fahid to his friend. - I always try to stay alert, but today I was used by the devil.

- How come? You are known to be so wise!

- This morning I went to the mosque to pray. Obeying the tradition, I took off my shoes before entering; when I was about to leave, I saw that they had been stolen: so I created a thief.

- But it’s not your fault - said the friend.

- It is my fault. It is so easy to arouse the bad side in our neighbor. It is so easy to annoy someone, spread discord, raise suspicion, separate brothers. The devil needs men to carry out his acts - and that is why I am to blame."

I follow Paulo Coelho's blog and he has some very profound writings on it. I recommend it to everyone!

This blog in particular made me think, "What can I do to be a better person and neighbor?" It is as simple as not passing judgment on others as was described in this blog. We all can be better neighbors by not passing judgment upon each other--we are all humans and we cannot judge each other very well because we do not know the others situation. I hope that I can be a better neighbor, friend, brother, stranger, and whatever else comes my way by not judging others.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

thats deep, thanks

Ryan said...

Very nice. A friend of mine, asked how he could make it easier for guys who deal with same-sex attraction. He honestly wanted to make things easier! He wanted to make himself less tempting! Well, your post just reminded me of that! :D