Matthew 7:1-2 ERV “Don’t judge others, and God will not judge you.  If you judge others, you will be judged the same way you judge them. God will treat you the same way you treat others.”

Ouch! Judge? Who does that? We all do! We judge how people drive, how they spend their money, how they raise their children. We judge the clothes they wear, the way they sing, if they’re right or wrong, thin or fat, ugly or pretty. There’s not a day that goes by when we don’t judge someone or something. And we wonder why the blessings of God elude us. 

Verses 3-5 “Why do you notice the small piece of dust that is in your friend’s eye, but you don’t notice the big piece of wood that is in your own?  Why do you say to your friend, ‘Let me take that piece of dust out of your eye’? Look at yourself first! You still have that big piece of wood in your own eye. You are a hypocrite! First, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to get the dust out of your friend’s eye.”

I believe what Jesus is saying here is, ‘Hold up a mirror to your own face and you work on you, I will work on them.’ Something happens when we recognize we can’t fix others, only God can do that. In the pursuit of that process of holiness, others see how you’ve changed and want what you have, then you can direct them to the only true fixer; Jesus. 

A few weeks ago, I was listening to someone say, “It really bothers me when someone spills something on the floor and doesn’t clean it up. But then I realized, (she laughed) that I do the same thing and it doesn’t bother me when I do it.” That, is a prime example of judging.  I believe it should bother us more when WE do it then when we see others do it. In fact, if we are to be like Jesus, we should not just clean up our own messes, but be a servant and clean up theirs as well. 

Father, you are always showing me things that keep me from being the best I can be. Thank you for that. Help me not to criticize others, but to ask you to show me when I fail at something. I want to reflect you, your goodness, mercy, love and compassion. I want to serve others in a way that glorifies you and not me. It’s not my job to tell someone they messed up, it’s my job to cover them, their mess up’s, and clean up after them so others think well of them. You’ll take care of them just as you take care of me. I love that about you, Lord. You cover me.

Isaiah 1:18; “I, the Lord, am the one speaking to you. Come, let’s discuss this. Even if your sins are as dark as red dye, that stain can be removed and you will be as pure as wool that is as white as snow.”