Haven’t most of us spent countless hours with Mr. Rogers? He has helped to raise most of our kids, and he may have even blessed you too. You may not know that he was an ordained Presbyterian minister.

Mr. Rogers told the story of being in a worship service, his wife Joanne sitting by his side. They were on vacation. He was in seminary and was taking a class in preaching at the time. As he told the story, “During the sermon I kept ticking off every mistake I thought the preacher was making. He was a man, about 80 years old. When this interminable sermon finally ended, I turned to my wife, intending to say something critical about the sermon. I stopped myself when I saw tears running down her face. She whispered to me, ‘He said exactly what I needed to hear.’” Fred Rogers said, “I was judging and she was needing, and the Holy Spirit responded to need, rather than judgment.”

It may be too often that we function out of the perspective of judgment. We try to mend our own brokenness by judging others. We think that we will feel stronger when we imagine others as weak. We raise our confidence by showing disrespect toward others. We feel intelligent when we label others as foolish.

In fact and in faith, God is there to breach the gap by loving all of us. God provides affirmation, as God helps us see the goodness in both ourselves and others.

Buddy Pond is a member of our church. He says, “You don’t have to be wrong for me to be right.” He is so right.

Carl Rogers, the psychologist whose approach to psychotherapy can function as the framework of any serious conversation identifies three essential steps in a therapeutic conversation. There must be empathy, unconditional positive regard for the other, and genuineness.

We need only spend a short time with Jesus to see why so many followed him eager to hear what he had to say. He honored every person he met treating everyone as a child of God.

Put these wise observations to the test. Consider any individual you know while pondering the wisdom of Fred Rogers, Carl Rogers, Buddy Pond or Jesus. Now that will make you feel better about yourself and them.

Shalom,
Jack