You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. – (Romans 2:1, NIV)
Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. – (Romans 2:1, ERV)
So you can see there are no excuses for any of us. If your eyes shift their focus from yourselves to others – to judge how they are doing – you have already condemned yourselves! You don’t realize that you are pointing your fingers at others for the exact things you do as well. – (Romans 2:1, VOICE)
In a world where there is so much judgment and finger-pointing, it seems the only solution is to be intentional in choosing to love. It does not mean that we merely overlook heinous crimes, offenses, and the like, but it does mean that we pray for those who persecute us or offend us, and give kindness and grace those around us. Something that I learned a long time ago, is that when we point a finger at someone else, there are three of our own fingers pointing back at us. Whatever we judge others for, we too will be judged, for it is typically a fault in us that we see in others that drives us to want to play “judge”. The thing is, at the end of our days, when we stand before God, we will be judged by Him on what we have and have not done. If we have spent our life judging others, our own similar sins will be highlighted and condemning. However, if we instead choose to pray for others, even when we do not understand why they do what they do, we we be given grace in the same way. Imagine the world if we all did less judging and more praying. Grace and kindness would be abundant, and good would be obvious in all. May we ever seek the Lord to show us how to let go of judgment and place it in His hands, and to instead, love and care for all, no matter if we understand them or not.
Lord, show us the way,
to be judgment free;
to pray and to love,
intentionally.
For if we choose judge,
we condemn ourselves;
for it’s not our role,
to judge someone else.
Instead, please lead us,
to love as You do;
abundant in grace,
as kindness shines through.
Please show us the way,
that we can love best;
in each circumstance,
put judgment to rest.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You call us to love, not to judge. Forgive us for the times that we have judged others instead of praying and seeking to understand. Teach us to trust in You and rely on You to lead us in Your love in all things and at all times. Show us how to love everyone we encounter, be it close up or through heartfelt prayer. May many come into a lasting relationship with You, for You are the way, the truth, and the light to all that is good. Be glorified O God, as we let go of judgment and trust it in Your hands, allowing Your loving kindness to be evident to all. Amen.
© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. – Matthew 7:1
Revelations In Writing 