If...

If they had a brain, they wouldn't be disabled/poor...

If she’d just exercise more…

If he’d just pray harder…

If she wasn’t so lazy…

If she just ate healthier…

At one time or another, we’ve all probably thought, or even said, something like these statements.  As outside observers, it is very easy to make snap judgments about someone, without knowing all the facts.  But in reality, we don’t know anything!

Here are a few responses to the above statements:

Just because someone is disabled doesn’t mean they are mentally challenged in any way.  A person's physical capabilities have absolutely no bearing on intelligence.  Along the same lines, a lack of money is not always a direct result of a lack of education, training, or intelligence.  Sometimes, unavoidable life circumstances are such that a person finds themselves, or their family, in difficult financial straits.

Yes, exercise is an excellent way to achieve, and maintain, good health.  But sometimes a physical limitation keeps someone from exercising, no matter how much they would like to exercise.  In some cases, exercise can actually exacerbate a problem, rather than resolve it.

I am a person of faith.  I believe that if God wants to heal me, He will.  However, I also believe that He does not necessarily want me healed.  I do not believe that if I just pray hard enough, He will heal me.  He will only do so if it is His will.  Besides, since becoming disabled, my life has been made richer and fuller.  Trials tend to build our character and make us stronger.  So in that sense, I am grateful for my disabilities.

Laziness has nothing to do with health.  I know plenty of very healthy people who prefer to sit around and do nothing.  I also know plenty of disabled people who are quite active.  Disability is not caused by laziness anymore than health is achieved through activity.

Healthy eating is beneficial to pretty much everyone, but it is not a cure-all.  Neither is eating poorly the cause of all disabilities or illnesses.  I believe it is important to pay attention to how various foods affect you personally, and adjust your consumption of them accordingly.  For example, I feel healthier when I eat a diet high in carbohydrates, whereas my mother feels healthier when she eats a low carb diet.  No diet is perfect for everyone.

To sum up: we’re all different, and we can’t know what another person is thinking.  It is not our place to judge others, but simply to do the best we can with what we have.