Judgement
I was sitting in my office, stewing over the fact that our grandson was sick. An incident had happened, and I felt sure that if a certain individual hadn’t shown up, our grandson wouldn’t have gotten sick. As I was meditating on that thought — trying not to be angry but still wanting to place blame — the Holy Spirit said, “Do you want Me to judge your past like that?”
Immediately, my past started flashing through my mind. I can’t tell you how quickly my spirit shifted. We are so eager to judge, especially when we feel justified, that we forget about the planks lurking in our own eyes.
Scripture tells us not to judge others so that we will not be judged. Yet, how often do we run our mouths, spouting our own opinions and judging others because we think we’re right? I can’t count how many times I’ve been in conversations where someone, because of their education or experience, believed they had the right to pass judgment on someone else.
Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount:
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘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 your brother’s eye.”
— Matthew 7:3–5, NIV
It’s easy to judge because we don’t usually take the time to reflect on our own faults. We know we’re not perfect, but when we think we have knowledge or experience, we feel entitled to share our opinions. God made this very clear to me in my own life.
My husband and I used to see an elderly couple living in a house down the street. One day, we noticed a younger man had moved in, and we assumed it must be their son.
Every day, we saw him outside working on a Porsche — putting decals on it or tinkering with something. Because we saw him doing this daily, we jumped to the conclusion that he was living off his parents. We had never met the man, knew nothing about the family — yet we had something to say.
Last year, the house went up for sale, and they held an estate sale. We saw some people standing around who we assumed might be the owners, so we got out of our car to say hello. What we learned left me humbled and ashamed.
The young man who had been living there had died. He had been terminally ill. His parents had been renting the house for years, and when his father died, the son bought the house so his mother wouldn’t have to move out of her home. He had been living with her to help care for her. Now that her son had passed away, she couldn’t afford the home, so she had to sell it.
I walked away so ashamed and embarrassed. I asked God for forgiveness. That day, He taught me a valuable lesson: Do not judge — and keep your mouth shut!
"Who are you to judge another’s household servant? Before his own Lord he stands or falls. And he will stand, because the Lord is able to make him stand."
— Romans 14:4
Listen, I was driving around in my car, calling myself a Christian, while judging someone who will stand before God — and in those moments, I would have been the one to fall. We have to be so careful about what we say. Scripture is clear:
"But I tell you that everyone will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken."
— Matthew 12:36
Key Takeaways:
Your words will cost you.
God says do not judge.
Remove the plank from your own eye before you try and correct someone else.
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19; Isaiah 55:11
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