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HERE IS A SAMPLE NEWSLETTER ON JUSTIFICATION...
1. INTRODUCTION to our subject – TO JUSTIFY
This week we’ll have a little look into the basis behind the theory of justifying.
First it is appropriate to define the word…
Justification: “To prove or show to be just, to vindicate, to maintain or defend as conformable to law, right justice, propriety, or duty.”
Whilst justification in its precise definition is perfectly fine, how often do you think this world uses it that way? With a wild guess I would say only 5%, yet most of the time JUSTIFICATION is used incorrectly.
Justification is a powerful word and subsequently people use it in a sentence to clarify their opinion; NOT to prove anything that is JUST.
Try and recall a situation recently whereupon someone has said they will justify their decision or action. They don’t prove anything that is JUST! They ramble on about WHY in their opinion this has happened. Mistaking of course the interpretation of the word and assuming that their ramblings are perfectly understandable and JUST.
BEWARE therefore of anyone, including yourself when they or you CLAIM a justification is required. It is likely to be no more than a cluster of opinion thinly disguised as the truth.
QUOTE: “Do you strengthen opinion, or strengthen the power of no opinion? When no opinion exists there is only truth.”
(Phil Booker)
Imagine these two comments:
“Allow me to justify…”
“Allow me to explain…”
To justify in today’s society seems to be nothing more than a bunch of opinions. An explanation however is allowing the listener to form their own opinion.
We foolishly accept that when a justification is made, our guard against corruption is down and we allow our mind to be convinced of anything.
Our opinions therefore can be disguised behind the word ‘justification’. Our ego is more than eager to force OUR opinion on everyone else.
QUOTE: “It is hard to fight the enemy who has outposts in your head.”
(Sally Kempton)
Here is an excerpt from an Educational Course; proving I may say that society is leading us to improve our process of accumulating opinion upon opinion.
PROJECT TO JUSTIFY
Your project is to Justify the Horrific. Think about the range of problems you know something about; drop by the library and read some recent news magazines if you need to. Then set out to justify, as logically as possible, the most horrific "solution" you can think of. You will have the fun of trying out all your most careful argumentation--constructing logical proofs, adducing evidence and reasons to support your suggestion, explaining the many benefits to be had, and disposing of alternatives or opposition to your plan. Take on the role, for example, of justifying the genocide, cultural destruction, and eco-devastation of Tibet by the Chinese military occupation. Or pick any other issue you care enough about to play out.
Those of you who are history buffs might choose a variation of the project. Choose a terrible event in history and justify it, defend its perpetrators, and puncture the condemnations of those who have condemned your event then or now. Explain, for example, why throwing Christians to the lions actually performed many public services at once, cleansing the Empire of a fringe sect, entertaining the citizenry, exercising the lions, lowering the food bills for the official menagerie. Surprise us: avoid the predictable.
(Rhizome)
The suggestion from reading this text is that whilst the skill of organisation is shown, the exercise is aimed to strengthen our use of compiling our opinion, rather than compiling facts and truth.
To conclude this brief observation - we must become aware that too many people hide behind the power of justification. They use it to give their opinion and do it successfully as if their opinion was the truth.
And now onto this week’s story…
2.
STORY This story is an illustration of a boy who explained from his heart and ultimately achieved an understanding from those who judged, plus they found a miraculous innocent boy, rather than a boy who was led by impressing the power of a justification for his actions.
JUDGE NOT, LEST YE BE JUDGED
Judge not, lest ye be judged. Matthew 7:1
The call was controversial - just as all really close calls in baseball are. Full speed the runner slid home and thinking he had just scored a game-altering run, he stood up only to face the words, "You're out!"
Now you know how it is when you've given your all to an effort and you stand up, only to hear the ump say, "You're out!" Just running for home when the play could be that close takes confidence and determination, not to mention a certain amount of competitiveness that doesn't just evaporate when you stand up. And it didn't with this teenager either.
Furious, he threw off his helmet and ran over to explain to the ump in no uncertain terms why the call was wrong, why the ump needed glasses, and why he was clearly home and nobody could miss that call so badly. Before his temper really got out of hand, someone pulled him away, and he walked to the bench - livid.
God sees not as man sees, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7
Long after the coaches, players, and fans had gone home, this typical teenage boy realized the impact of his decisions at home plate. Like most of us do when we are faced with the embarrassment of our actions, he could very well have made the logical next choice and just let it slide, reasoning: "Everybody does it." "The ump's probably heard that stuff a million times."
However, in the silence of his heart, this young man knew that just because everyone else does it, that doesn't make it all right. And so, long after his buddies had gone home, he tracked that ump back up to the school - not to vandalize his car and not to further harangue him. No, this typical teenage boy tracked this man down so he could tell him face-to-face: "I'm sorry, Sir. I was wrong."
It takes true courage to stand up in the face of those everyday indiscretions we all make and say, "I was wrong. I'm sorry." What makes this apology even more unique is that it wasn't meant for the world to hear, it wasn't meant to make the apologizer look better in the eyes of anyone else. It was meant simply as a way to stay true to his own heart.
In reality the story may well have ended there, and no one would have been the wiser. However, on the way out of town, the ump saw the superintendent and flagged him down to express his appreciation and surprise at the boy's apology. But the ump wasn't the only one who was surprised. The superintendent later talked to the coach to say how impressed he was that the coach had sent the boy to apologize.
Only problem: The coach hadn't sent him and knew nothing about the apology until that very moment.
A few days later the coach ran into the boy's father and remarked how impressed he was that his parents had sent the boy to apologize. You guessed it - they knew nothing about it either! Our truest actions are those that come from the heart -not what someone makes us do because it's the right thing. I know, however, that although the parents didn't intervene on this occasion, they had intervened enough times in the past for this boy to have the ultimate courage and try to remedy a situation when it would have been easier to reason, "He'll get over it."
The truth is at one time or another we have all been this boy - acting out in rage, saying hurtful things, and feeling justified for doing so. The real test comes later when we are presented with the choice to make amends or to walk away thinking, "Ah, they'll get over it."
Maybe the "they'll" is a co-worker, a customer, a friend, a sibling, a child, or a spouse. Whoever it is, don't pass up the opportunity to get right with your own heart. Don't let them walk off the field and drive out of town, thinking, "Oh, well. No big deal. They'll get over it." The time for apology is now!
Courage is a matter of the heart. I wish that every person in the whole world had the courage of this one typical teenager. If they did, just imagine what "typical" might come to mean! (And a last caveat: The whole world starts with YOU!)
(Staci Stallings, Author)
3. EVERYDAY EXAMPLE
Justification is almost like having to
listen to a hard sell technique. As if one says, “This is how it is and
this is how you are going to react.” Explanation however allows the
listener to judge for them self. This next story illustrates how a
situation really was, rather than any justification as to how he wants you
to feel. WHAT GOOD IS INTEGRITY?
After a workshop, Paul (that's not his real name) said that he still has 10-year-old scars from the time he quit a good job rather than lie. When his boss asked him to issue a press release containing patently false statements, he refused, putting his employee badge on the table.
His boss calmly handed the badge back to him saying, "Think this over. Why throw away a good job and a promising career?"
Paul walked out so frustrated and frightened he had to find a private place to cry. What's worse, he said that his act of moral courage was a meaningless waste. Someone else issued the press release and his boss's career flourished. "It took me years to find a job as good as that one and my family suffered," he added. "So, what good did my integrity do for anyone?"
Paul was looking for validation of his principled stance in the wrong places. We exercise integrity not to get what we want, but to be what we want. Integrity is not essentially about winning; it's about staying whole and being worthy of self-respect and the esteem of loved ones. It's about being honourable, not as a success strategy, but a life choice. Though Paul suffered for a time because of his moral courage, he would have suffered far worse had he betrayed his own values.
While he didn't appreciate it, Paul preserved for himself and his family something far more valuable than his job -- his honour. And it's no accident that he now has a better job with no pressures to cheat or lie.
Michael Josephson, Speaker and Radio Commentator)
ANSWER: To improve your level of wisdom you need MEASURE in your life. Without this organization you’re batting at a sticky wicket. You’ll not move forward. Structure and a MEASURED existence are of paramount importance. This next excerpt explains the one step that includes every step. If you believe in a wisdom or a faith, you’re half way to improving your discipline.
ONE STEP PLAN
We human beings certainly are fond of steps. I noticed this especially the other day when I was browsing at a local book store. As I passed by the self-help section I noticed that almost every book had steps in the title. There were books with steps for success, for making money, for dieting, for improving your marriage, for raising children, and for invigorating your love life. Now I haven’t read any of these best sellers, so I am not sure if they work or not. It just seems strange to me that we human beings have to make everything such hard work.
After all, what is harder than climbing up a flight of steps except maybe climbing them while carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders? I know too many people, however, who insist that those steps be climbed and that weight be carried. They refuse to believe that a good life can be fun, that happiness can be easy, and that joy and love can be simply chosen. They don’t believe that God could love us enough to give us these things as free gifts.
All these things they believe must be earned through hard work, discipline, sacrifice and climbing the steps of adversity. If they do allow themselves one moment of joy it is only after earning it with months of misery.
For all of these people then I offer my one step plan to joy, love, peace, and happiness. It is easy to implement, requires no special equipment, and can be done any time. It is simple to remember and even more simple to do. You just choose these things right now. Choose them in your mind, heart, and soul. Choose them this very second and they are yours. They remain yours too for as long as you keep choosing them.
These people, of course, won’t follow my plan. It is too simple, too easy, and doesn’t have enough steps. I hope that you do, however, and make your life a living testament to joy.
(Joseph J. Mazzella)
In other words the instruction is to MAKE a choice to introduce a more disciplined and measured life style that encourages the structure for more wisdom and philosophy.
"Our happiness depends on wisdom all the way." (Sophocles)
"Life is always moving forward. If you feel you're going backwards, just turn around." (Eva Gregory)
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