Judging ourselves
by Verena Johnson
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‘For at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgement do the same things’ (Romans 2:1).
We make hundreds of judgements every day – about other drivers on the way to work or the people we see on the bus, those we work with, the people we pass on the street or queue up with at the shops, the people we hear or read about in news items. Who hasn’t made judgements about the recent American elections!
It’s so easy to judge; however, as this verse points out, when we judge others, we are judging ourselves. We can’t make excuses for ourselves and judge others, as we are no different from anyone else. We all have our flaws. We all make mistakes and mess things up. We all say and do the wrong things.
We also can’t sit in judgement and rate sins on a scale of one to ten, with one being a small slip-up and ten being totally evil. It’s all sin. We’ve all sinned and deserve God’s judgement.
Verse 11 of this passage says, ‘For God does not show favouritism’. God does not show favouritism when it comes to judging sin, but he also shows no favouritism when it comes to his love or his grace and forgiveness. It’s there for everyone who believes and anyone who asks.
God loves us and also all those people we are so quick to judge. He wants to shower his grace and forgiveness on them as well as on us. What’s more, he wants you and me to show his love, grace and forgiveness towards them too.
One of my wise mentors once told me that whenever they are tempted to judge others, they remind themselves that the other is a person for whom Christ died.
Dear God, thank you for your love and the grace and forgiveness you shower on me. Help me to show that same love, grace and forgiveness toward others. Amen.
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