Why Are You Judging?

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Scripture:

Matt. 7:1   “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.  2 For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.  3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?  4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while 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 neighbor’s eye.

Observation:

This is a great warning from Jesus because we must recognize that any criticism that we are willing to give makes us vulnerable to the very same criticism. The things that we notice in others may be our very weaknesses and we are judgmental because somehow we think it makes us feel better about ourselves.

Jesus brings home the point when he makes us realize that we need to examine our own behaviors before we can criticize anyone else. Our actions speak louder than our words and we will be judged by our behaviors and not our words.

Application:

There have been a lot of words this week expressing a myriad of opinions, but maybe we need to look beyond the words and examine behaviors. Remember, we are not to judge others, but instead we are to live a life that reflects what it is that we believe.

Therefore we should live a life of generosity, graciously reaching out to those around us without a critical spirit. As we reach out with the overflowing love of Christ we will have an impact on our world. Love those who are unlovely. Pray for our enemies. Seek ways to share the love of Christ to those who may have differing opinions and, most of all, live out your faith in your daily life.

If we’ve spent too much time this week being critical of others maybe we ought to step back and examine ourselves. Besides our words, have we done anything to make a difference? Maybe it’s time to make sure that our actions speak louder than our words and allow what we do to bring peace. Once I have participated in the mission of God’s peace in this world I may be able to see clearly enough to help my neighbor with the speck in their eye.

Prayer:

Lord, please help me to live a life that reveals your reconciling love.  Amen.
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