Welcome to Maplewood Estates, a quiet suburban neighborhood… -- Image by F. Muhammad from Pixabay
A Modern Retelling of "Do Not Judge"
Welcome to Maplewood Estates, a quiet suburban neighborhood with perfectly trimmed lawns and identical mailboxes. The homes are nearly identical, all cars are parked in the garage as per HOA regulations, trees are neatly trimmed, and the owners are the unhappiest people around.
Why, one must ask? Simple, one person. The ruler supreme of the HOA: Carol Baxter, president and self-appointed Queen of the HOA.
When Carol meets people in this neighborhood, she is pleasant with everyone. She is great at simple, almost gossipy conversations. Her passion is birdwatching.
Often, Carol would be seen with a clipboard in hand, binoculars around her neck, and a birding book sticking out of her purse. But the tell-tale sign - a tape measure affixed to her rather large purse. Everyone in Maplewood Estates knows her birdwatching was just a ploy to catch HOA rule violations.
She filed weekly reports about grass being half an inch too long, mailboxes with peeling paint, a car parked in the street, and garbage cans left visible for exactly three minutes past pickup. She would email out colorfully written letters to every violator about HOA rules and regulations.
If not resolved immediately, come Saturday mornings, Carol marched through the subdivision like a general, knocking on doors with the stern warning, "One more day and the fines start rolling, mark my words!"
She was adamant about the violations:
"Your Christmas lights are still up — it's January 5th. Rules state they must be down by January 2nd!"
"A weed is showing again. This is unacceptable!"
"Your driveway has an oil spot. Have that cleaned within 48 hours."
At Carol's house, the porch light was out, a weed grew in the driveway, and one of the gutters had come loose and sagged a bit.
Sitting in her rocking chair, listening to very old music, she would muse, "Let them complain. I'm the president, no... THE QUEEN and only I can write someone up. Why would I write myself up?"
It was late spring and time for the annual community BBQ, a celebration of the end of winter and summer on the horizon. Every year, the celebration took place in front of Carol's place, probably breaking more HOA rules that would be ignored.
She started her annual speech, about rules, following them with examples of breaking them. She was mid-speech when a gust of wind came through. The loose gutter section flew off like a javelin flying through the air. It hit the gas grill just right and pushed it into the stack of chairs; they fell against the folding table holding the food and drink, one leg bent, then collapsed, and everything went flying.
For a moment, it was scary silent. Then laughter rippled through the crowd.
Mr. Harlan, who'd gotten fined three times for his unauthorized flowerpots, grinned. "Carol, maybe worry about the disaster in your home, before nitpicking about a weed in the driveway, an oil stain, unauthorized flowerpots, and so on."
Red-faced, Carol muttered something about "getting around to it" and quickly sat down.
Sometimes a simple act of kindness can go a long way. Everyone at the celebration pitched in and cleaned up the mess. Most of the food was in containers and salvageable, the wheels on the grill were locked, and the broken gutter was on the not-so-perfect lawn. It became one of the best celebrations ever.
From that day, Maplewood Estates was a little more forgiving. The grass still got cut, no cars were parked in the street, and people rolled their eyes less and laughed more.
And Carol? She is still the HOA queen, but the clipboard is parked in her office. What the good folks of Maplewood Estates did after the disaster left a huge impression on her. Her hard-nosed actions were causing her more harm than she ever realized.
Now, Carol simply talks to everyone, politely and sincerely. No nasty emails, no front door threats, just a simple verbal visit. To her surprise, she was finding fewer and fewer violations.
Then it happened. The neighbors who happened to be home cheered as Bob's Rain Gutter truck pulled up to Carol's immaculately kept home.
Based on Matthew 7:1-6
Synopsis:
Jesus warns against judging others while ignoring your own flaws. His point? Fix yourself first — the "plank in your own eye" — before nitpicking others. This retelling shows how hypocrisy looks ridiculous in modern life: when you call out someone else's "speck," your own "plank" is on full display.
Tap to read the actual bible passage:
The teaching of Judging Others
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