Teachings of Jesus in Luke: Judging

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
He also told them a parable: “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor,‘Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? 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. ~ Luke 6:37-42

The self-righteous scream judgments against others to hide the noise of skeletons dancing in their own closets. ~ Poet, John Mark Green

When you are spiritually connected, you are not looking for ways to be offended. ~ Wayne Dyer



 Have you ever looked for ways to be offended?

 Maybe politically? Or socially? Or by the person who is rude in line in front of you at the grocery store.

 Or by that loud Dallas Cowboy fan sitting in front of you.

 Maybe it is by the T-shirt that kid is wearing. Or the lack of an appropriate dress that girl was wearing.

 Or the music that is playing instead of the hymns you like.

 Maybe it is because you are a vegetarian and someone gave you chicken.

 Or you are a meat lover and someone fed you hummus.

 I'm not going to lie, I've been offended lots of times. I've looked askance and judged. Because quite honestly, judging might just be the most broken rule Jesus gave us.

 Judging is as easy as breathing. We probably do it more times during a day than we care to admit.

 Now just as I said justice doesn't mean having to do with a trial in an earlier post, I'm also not talking about judging in terms of the criminal court system here either. Let the judges do their thing.

 But when we judge, when we let being offended be our first stop, then we are missing a bigger picture.

 We are missing a clear look at who we are.

 And miss seeing someone else the way God sees them.

 I wish I had sage advice on how not to judge. I don't really. But maybe, maybe next time, just catch yourself, notice it, and then look at the person you were judging with fresh eyes. And see what happens then.

 Prayer: Help me get that log out of my eye, Lord. Amen.





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