Thought of the Day !!

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Matthew 7:1-2 (NIV)

People judge others all the time. We judge and are judged based on attributes such as sex, skin color, political beliefs, religious beliefs, and on and on. If a person looks a certain way or acts a certain way or believes a certain way, then there must be something wrong with that person. And judgments are often incorrect. Nathanael judged a man because of where he came from..."Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" This judgment was not a very good one indeed. For Jesus is the one he was talking about.

When we judge others, we take on a privilege that has not been given to us. For Jesus, the only perfect one to ever live, is the true Judge. We may disagree. We may argue about various things. We may try and persuade others against a certain behavior. But the difference in this and judging is when we start believing that we know the totality of God's will on the subject and that the other person (or group) cannot possibly be trying to listen to God. In other words, believing something like "I know what's right and what's wrong, whereas you cannot since you disagree with me".

Issues like homosexuality and abortion and the death penalty, along with environmental, economic or political issues can divide us because we believe so adamantly that we're right and the other side is wrong. This can lead to believing that the person on the other side is a bad person. And so we judge that person based upon his/her belief.

You may be right on an issue. And on the other hand you may be wrong. For when two sides are so far apart from each other, one or the other side has to be wrong. But never let the devil use these issues to convince you to break the second greatest commandment...love of neighbor.

You may sense that God is calling you to stand up to support or go against a certain issue. And if that's the case, by all means, do what God is calling you to do. But even though you may find it your calling to make a stand for what you believe is God's will, never allow yourself to get caught up in judging someone else. For the other person may honestly believe that they're just doing what God wants them to do as well. And only God knows for sure what is truly right. So let someone who's more qualified have the job of judging. Allow Jesus to do this. Anyway, we're supposed to be in the business of loving, not judging.

As for me, I ask for God's forgiveness where I have judged and will judge in the future. And I ask that You, oh Lord, will be more lenient in judgment of me than I have been with others at times.

In the love of Christ,
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