Verse: Matthew 7:1-2
Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
Devotion
I wonder how many people I judge without even realizing it, without a second thought. I am pretty good at being empathetic and hearing other people’s perspectives when they talk to me, but what about those people that I don’t get a chance to speak to? What kinds of judgements am I making? What judgements did I make today, about other people in cars on the road? At the grocery store? How about people online or over email? How much of a hypocrite was I today, I wonder? I use that word because a little later in the text, it’s the word that Jesus uses.
I wonder how this works. Do I get judged the very moment that I judge another person? I’m not sure, but these words are a clear reminder that we are not to take judgement of another person on ourselves. We have enough of a job to do in managing our own inner and outer life, I think. What is in our hearts is between us and God, and the same is true for each person. This doesn’t mean that we don’t use discernment when making decisions about who to spend time with or who to trust with personal information. It doesn’t mean that we don’t use the wisdom that we have and that the Holy Spirit can impart. It does mean that we approach others with humility and gentleness and impartiality.
As with so many things, there is a balance to be found, and it seems to me that it always comes back to love. Are we treating other people in a loving way? Am I functioning out of the overflow of abundant love that has been given to me? That’s always a good question to ask myself. It’s not that I am oblivious to behavior that may be concerning, but that those things don’t cause me to write off another person as unworthy or less than, or to treat them as if they were somehow any different from me.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, will you help me to be aware of the judgements that I make and to submit my thoughts and actions to you? I want to be in right relation to you and to those around me.
Amen
Author: Emily Costa
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