Judging Others

S - Matt 7

Judging Others

1“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2“For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4“Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

O - Jesus is teaching this principle of judgement to His disciples, and was certainly talking about the Jewish leaders as well, and most importantly was delivering it to all of us.   Starting with His disciples, Jesus knew he would send them, and that they were to reach the lost and the sinners. How impossible would they be to reach if your heart and mind were constantly judging them.   Extreme emphatic and yet righteousness is required to reach the lost.  Jesus needed his disciples to reflect on themselves so that they might understand what it means to fall short, i.e., we all have flaws and sins that we have lived with if then we find someone who sins more than us or more severely than us, does that then allow us to become their judge... absolutely not,  it should make us emphatically with them,  pray for them,  what to see them free from their sins.

A - I know I felt convicted to write about this today because I often have a suspicious attitude towards those I feel might not be on my side of things.  I see people doing things that are wrong, and I want to help them make them right.    I recognize now that so frequently I am wrong about people’s motives and circumstances, and especially their feelings, that I spend a lot of time judging them.  I am convicted by the words of Jesus because I know how bad I feel when I am being judged and yet I would not want to be judged like I am judging others.    I am not yet sure what the answer is other than pray the Lord would remove the log from my eye so that I might accurately see others as God see’s them,  imperfect but still His creation, redeemable and loved.

P - Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for today’s lesson, may it be sealed to my heart.  I pray that you would help me to see people as you see them.  Help me to focus on my own sins that I need to repent for and deal with so I might see the good in people and love them the way you do.  I pray all these things in Jesus name, Amen.