Perception and reaction. That’s what I write about this week. Perception of self and of others. Reaction to self and to others. Are religious people those who automatically perceive themselves as being good/forgiven/holy, and practice discernment through which they perceive others as bad/needing-to-be-forgiven/not-quite-as-holy? Perhaps to be religious is to be someone who knows they may be forgiven, but they are lacking in the good/holy department, but being religious means we manage others’ perceptions of us so that others are convinced we have goodness to go along with our forgiven status? How should we see ourselves, and how should we see others? And how does that influence the way we react to ourselves and to others? Don’t you find that we are a reactive people? Quick to react with judgment, and harshness. Quick to believe the worst in someone else. Shouldn’t something in our religious practice change that? As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sit...