Judge Not...

Jesus said, "Do not judge others and you will not be judged..."  (Matt. 7:1).

When we judge others, we are actually judging ourselves. We are judging ourselves by comparing ourselves to others and coming up lacking. We are selling ourselves short. And we are robbing others of the opportunity to get to know us.

That’s the insidious thing about judging. It harms the person we are judging but it also harms us as well by cutting ourselves off from relationship. And part of that cutting off involves cutting our own self off from a deeper understanding of who we are.

Judging makes forgiveness impossible. Unforgiveness locks us in an emotional prison towards the person we won’t forgive; it also locks us up from the deepest part of who we are. So, when we judge someone it not only harms the person we are judging, but it also harms us. It keeps us narrow-minded, unloving and unkind. It’s the very opposite of love.

The solution to all of this is to seek God when judgment comes creeping back into our thoughts. Seek God by confessing it, asking God to remove it and bring the opposite towards that person and our own self. Ask God to bring blessing to that person, to help us understand them, and to heal them and ourselves.

As we get into this habit of dealing with judgment, we will see mercy and grace and forgiveness flowing.

photocredit. janshares.hubpages.com