“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?” (Matthew 7:1-4)
We spend an awful lot of time judging. Often times completely unintentionally so. As humans it is in our nature to categorize and label. It is the way our brains are wired and it makes for efficient thinking. When we see people around us we might notice something amiss, or find ourselves gravitating away from someone. Sometimes we mistake discernment (which is something we MUST do) for judgement. We turn away from people whose sins are more visible because we don’t want to be associated with the sin. Somehow, loving that person means we are condoning some behavior we disagree with. Our intentions are not evil, but we still pass judgement and withhold our love and justify it to ourselves.
It is not our job. It is not our job to judge their choices or their lifestyles. What a blessing that is! What a burden it would be to be responsible for that! Fortunately, all we have to do is try our hardest to love God and love our neighbors. No matter what they are doing or how they are behaving or how they are dressed or who they love. Our job is just to love and be kind. God knows their hearts and He will be fair and just in the end. We can rely on that and just spend our time loving our brothers and sisters. It is certainly easier said than done, but it is so important and doing so will lift our own spirits as much as it will help others, if not moreso.
President Monson said, “None of us is perfect. I know of no one who would profess to be so. And yet for some reason, despite our own imperfections, we have a tendency to point out those of others. We make judgments concerning their actions or inactions. There is really no way we can know the heart, the intentions, or the circumstances of someone who might say or do something we find reason to criticize. Thus the commandment: ‘Judge not.’” (Charity Never Faileth, General Women’s Conference, October 2010).
Meditation and Journaling Prompt: Where and when do you find yourself judging when you could be loving? How can you soften your heart?
