Seeing us for who we are

I watched the movie "W" tonight. I almost went to see it around the time of the election when it was in the theaters. I decided not to go then because I thought it was just another attempt to paint a bad picture of President Bush. Anyway, I ordered it from Blockbuster this week because I felt enough time had passed that I could watch it and not get angry.

The movie was okay. It painted Dick Cheney as the bad guy. It tried to show the tensions between some of the senior staff. It brought out some good points about the circumstances and motivations that may have existed in the White House during George Bush's Presidency. It also lifted up George Bush's deep faith in God and although I get the sense that they tried to ridicule it, it didn't come across that way to me as a believer. I'm sure that the scoffers would have had a field day with it though.

All in all I came away from the movie feeling the way I did about George Bush before I watched it. The movie didn't influence me one way or the other. It only made me appreciate the fact that there was so much more going on than the media reported and that he is a much more complex man than his critics see.

The truth is that life is very complicated. No one can look at another person and truly judge their motives. We do things for many reasons. Some of our decision making is based upon our past. Some decisions are based on our fears. Some decisions are based on our faith. The thing that complicates our ability to judge another person, even more than their mixed motives, is the fact that we project our own thoughts on that person. We ascribe motives to them that fit our assessment of the individual. That happens a lot in politics. It happened to President Bush and it is happening to President Obama.

Well here is the good news: The one who is going to judge you and me will not judge us by what he sees us doing. He knows our hearts. He knows our motivations. He knows what makes us tick because he created us. What's more is the fact that he loves us and he sees the good in us. That means that he is willing to forgive us and give us a fresh start anytime we ask for it. Praise God.