I judge people.
I know.
It’s wrong.
I’ve gotten better, but there is still much room for improvement.
Now before you go getting your panties in a bunch judging me, sunshine, hear me out because I can venture to bet you have judged people a time or two.
Maybe one of these scenarios will sound familiar…
The homeless woman standing at the busy intersection with a sign.
The “other woman.” You know? The adulteress.
The woman who posts pictures on Facebook of her family as if they have a professional photographer following them around 24/7.
The mother of six driving an Escalade talking on the latest iPhone and paying for groceries with a SNAP card.
| It is true that when we look at the speck of sawdust in someone’s eye, we are neglecting to see the plank in our own. (Matt 7:3-5)
Sadly, I’ve judged people in all of the above scenarios, and my how God has convicted me!
God has given me the chance to walk a mile in some of the same moccasins, metaphorically speaking, of course.
And my how I’ve been humbled.
Through my “I would never do that!” and “How could someone live with themselves after that?” and “Why doesn’t she just get a job?” queries, God has developed in me a spirit of mercy and compassion, something I might not have gained until I experienced these lows for myself.
John Gray is one of my all-time favorite pastors; he further convicted me in one of his sermons when he said, “There is the same amount of God in every person.”
Wow! Was that a shot through the heart?!
Over the years, I have embraced the Truth that I am made in God’s image and that no matter what, God loves me, however, I am often quick to overlook that others are made in God’s image, too…and that He loves them just as much as He loves me–messiness and all.
What about you, sunshine?
And have you ever said, “I would never!”?
Be careful because God may develop mercy and compassion through those same experiences and those people, too. |
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“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?
Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye;
then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”
Matt 7:3-5 |
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