My husband preaches three services every Sunday morning. Every Sunday after the last service, his brain predictably shifts into some kind of alternate state. It’s like seeing his screen saver kick on — the brain parts are still working, but there doesn’t seem to be any real activity. I’ve learned not to give him any kind of information he’s really going to need until at least 3:00 P.M.

I can always tell he’s slipped into Post-traumatic Sermon Syndrome when I ask where he’d like to go for lunch and he answers, “Forty-seven.” Yes, he’s really and truly given me that answer. More than once. One time we even caught him trying to order at the McDonald is drive-through by speaking into their trash can.

My favorite screen-saver moment happened one Sunday afternoon at Taco Bell. Richie had freshly entered into PTSS mode; I was just pleased he was able to place his order. But when it came time to pay, he didn’t have his special discount tag he keeps on his key chain. He asked one of the kids to see if he left his keys in the car. Jordan came back from the car wearing an interesting smirk. He said, “Dad, not only did you leave your keys in the car — you left the car running.” We all howled, though I think I was the loudest.

Every time we ran into someone we knew over the next weeks, I’d beg Richie, “Oh, please let me tell the Taco Bell story. Please, please, please.” He would roll his eyes and say something like, “Well, if you just have to.” I always had to.

About a month later, it came to a sad end. I was loading my bags into the minivan after a quick stop at Walmart. It was one of those hot July days. My shoes were sticking to the pavement. I thought I’d let the car cool off while I finished unloading, so I dropped my purse in the back seat and squeezed through to start up the van. I finished unloading, slammed the door, then realized I had locked myself out of my running car! I peered through the window. Yep, there was my purse; cell phone, too. Everything I needed was in there — except ME!

I hesitate to tell you about my phone call to Richie is secretary, but let me just say that the ladies at the Walmart jewelry counter heard something like this:

“Janet, I’m at Walmart and my phone is locked in my car. And my purse is in there too. And the keys. And, oh yeah, the car is running.

“Okay, Janet, stop laughing. What do you mean “how will he find me?” Okay, sure, Janet, go ahead and tell him to look for the woman on the parking lot with egg on her face.”

Janet has just a little bit of a mischievous streak. I’ve always admired that about her.

I hadn’t waited long when I saw Richie’s car pulling into the lot. I saw a shining glow first. It was teeth. I don’t know when I’ve seen him smile quite that big.

All I could say was, “Boy, am I going to miss telling that Taco Bell story.”

There are passages in scripture that are related to that kind of boomerang fun-poking on a bigger scale. If you judge others, you’ll find that judgment coming right back around and smacking you in the head.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:1-5, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (NIV)

Luke 6:37 in The Message says it this way: “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier.”

The principle is clear. At the point we think we have the right to condemn someone else, we’d better duck! That judgment has a kick. A critical, condemning spirit results in losing sight of another person is strengths, the loss of friendships, and a shortfall in our overall fruitfulness in life. It is a bad choice from any direction.

Learning to see people the way Jesus does, and learning to love them the way He does is the way to stay away from a judgmental spirit. I would say that it’s a “key” to right living, but that might remind me of the Walmart episode.

Contributed by Rhonda Rhea rrhea@juno.com

Rhonda Rhea writes for dozens of great Christian publications and speaks at conferences and events across the country. You can find her new book, Amusing Grace, at your local Christian bookstore. Rhonda’s husband, Richie Rhea, is a pastor in Troy, Missouri. You can reach them through her website at www.rhondarhea.net