Feeling Judged?

If you have enough time read Matthew 7.

‘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

I used take these words as a warning that if you judge someone else then God is going to judge you, so you’d better watch out how rough you are in your labeling of everyone else – unless of course you want God to be “rough” with you as well.

While there certainly is some truth in this (Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us), there is yet another truth that is also worth noting – the more (and rougher) I judge others, the more (and rougher) THEY judge me.

OR, maybe the MORE I feel and notice and am hurt by their judgments.

Do a personal experiment. Do you feel judged, criticized – do you feel watched, as though people are waiting for you to mess up? Well – if so, honestly (can we even be honest with ourselves in something like this?) look at how much you “notice” others and “their shortcomings”.

Instead of “waiting” for others to be less critical of me, what if I went first and just started, not just being “less critical”, but actually showering the praises and thanksgivings on everyone else – even and including the worst of those on “my list”?

Yikes! But who would hold them accountable for being a “screw-up” in life? Maybe we could allow the ONE who ultimately holds us accountable for the same – and by His grace marks us as innocent.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, as you did not come into the world to condemn the world but to save it, help me to know the difference and live it out in my own life as well. In your name. Amen.