Devotions from James Smith’s book The Good and Beautiful Life

The author talks about judging and that “Judging is making a negative evaluation of others without standing in solidarity with them.”  Correcting someone can be healthy and even life-enhancing but judging others never is.  We judge others to fix them or to make us feel better about ourselves, thereby showing we are more concerned about ourselves than the other person.  Mother Teresa said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” Others know instinctively if they are being judged and not loved. Even when we try to point out their wrong, the first step toward change is for a person to admit or recognize that there is a problem. When we judge others, we are forcing them to recognize their errors and they may not be ready.  Sometimes they don’t know how to change either. Then there is the other factor that our judgment may be wrong….until we have walked in their shoes how do we really know?  They may be fighting battles of which we know nothing about.  When we judge others we feel superior to them and as we focus on their weaknesses we are spared from admitting our own. Jesus offers us a different way to help others change without judging them. In Matt 7 Jesus said we would be judged by others with the same scrutiny we use. So let us go on to His way that we may truly help others. More tomorrow…