Judge Not

Luke 6 ESV
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven…”

Keeping ourselves in check is easier for some, but not so easy for others. If you would ask most people if they were judgmental, the answer would be, “of course not.”

If we put things into perspective, as Jesus said in Luke 6:31, “And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.” So, as we want people to do us, we have to do to them first or in spite of the way they did to us. I realize that is hard to do, but we are trying to follow Jesus.

To continue the thought of judging, I had a situation happen the other day; I was driving down a country road the other day and I saw two vehicles that wanted to cross the road perpendicular to me. As I got closer, I slowed down, and I guess that meant to one of the vehicles that I was going to turn, but I did not have on my turn signal. As I got right up on the vehicles, the vehicle to my right started to pull out in front of me.

I slammed on brakes and swerved to miss the vehicle and thank God I did. I thought a few things about the man, but I said nothing. What quickly came to my mind was the many times I made blunders in traffic. I did not judge the man, I did not condemn the man, and I eventually forgave the man, (after all I am human). The next time I make a blunder in traffic, I hope I get the same courtesy.

Prayer:
Lord, help me every day in small situations and large situations, to not pass judgment, not to condemn, but readily forgive, because if I do, I will start to become more like you! In Your gracious name Lord Jesus, Amen!