Do not judge, and you will not be judged.  Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 

(Luke 6:37 NIV)

You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 

(Romans 14:10 NIV)

As I was filling my gas tank at the service station, a lady driving a pickup, pulling a long boat trailer, pulled into the pumps closest to the convenience store door.  Unfortunately, she misjudged the length of her vehicles and the angle which she needed to attain to pull alongside the pumps.  She ended up with the front passenger side of her truck up on walkway leading into the store, while the boat trailer on the driver’s side was wedged solidly against the side of the gas pump.  Oh my, I thought, how is she going to get out of this mess. Several men had already gathered around and were assessing the situation trying to decide the best way of rectifying the problem.  The poor driver stood to the side, obviously very embarrassed by the predicament she had created, my heart went out to her.

Misjudging situations and ascertaining the correct angle for tackling problems can be difficult. It can also be very embarrassing, especially when others judge us harshly or unfairly; something I must admit that I have been guilty of from time to time.  As God’s children however, Judging others is not our job.  Only God knows the heart and it is only up to Him to make judgements.  Let us therefore not only pray asking the Holy Spirit to guide us each day, in regard to making good decisions so that we might ascertain the correct angle for tackling any and all problems, but also to remind and nudge us when we are tempted to judge others misjudgments. 

As children of God, as the great preacher John Wesley wrote, may we, instead of judging our brothers and sisters always seek to:

Do all the good we can,
By all the means we can,
In all the ways we can,
In all the places we can,
At all the times we can,
To all the people we can,
As long as ever we can.  Amen.

Prayer:  Father God thank you for the grace, love, kindness and mercy you always use when judging each and everyone.  Please remind us that judging others is never our job.  Rather we are to express the love and goodness of Christ in all we do at all times and in all places.  Empower us this day to do so, as we rely upon the power of your Holy Spirit within us.  In Christ’s name.  Amen.

Lynne Phipps
Tawatinaw, Alberta, Canada