What Did Christ Say About Judging

Sometimes we get in a habit of judging others.  We think we know what they are thinking and why they are acting in a certain way.  There are problems with this habit: It separates us from others and causes derision.  How differently might we act in a situation if we learn to have mercy instead of judgment, condemning, or criticizing.  We may ask, ‘How in the world is this possible?’  It is possible only through some hard work of capturing our own thoughts that take us down the road of condemning others.  We become a mindful “traffic cop” as we observe the traffic within our minds and put up an internal STOP sign when we begin to hear ourselves criticizing others.   Let’s see how Christ taught us this by his word and by example.

Mat. 7:1   Judge not, and ye shall not be judged:

Luk. 6:36, 37 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

Joh. 12:47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not:  For I come NOT to judge the world, but to save the world.

My Prayer For Today

God, fill me with mercy, discernment (the work of trafficking our own thoughts), compassion, love, kindness, longsuffering (becoming tolerant of others), that I might always be merciful toward others. Please teach me to discern a good thought from a destructive thought.  Amen