Here comes the judge…

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in someone else’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from the other person’s eye. [Matthew 7 – via Biblegateway.com TNIV]

Okay, you’ve got me. I’m always judging other people, places, organizations, you name it, I’ll judge it. I came by this trait honestly I was born into and raised in a legalistic and judgmental religious atmosphere. I’ll tell you one thing, I really get irritated when judgment comes my way. You see, YOU don’t know MY story!

I’ve got a great story explaining why I lost my temper and yelled at a loved one. I mean really, this person clearly deserved it. They kicked me when I was down. They egged me on. They were judging me first, weren’t they? In a world or constant rating and judgment, a culture that thrives on determining a person’s worth by the size of their bank account, or various bodily appendages, it is completely countercultural to believe that a follower of Jesus might be able to live a non-judgmental life.

I mean, listen, we even judge the day: It was a good day or a bad day. The weather: it was terrible, or it was wonderful. The traffic, the line at the grocery store, the governor, or the president. Some food is healthy, some food is not healthy. Really? Really?

My prayer today: Help me to overcome my need to compare and conclude, label and libel, pigeonhole and declare: “That person will never change.” Really? Really? And when I am being judged, Father, help me to not become a homicidal maniac. ‘There ya go…”