Judgment is Just the Byproduct of a Short Memory

One thing I have incorporated into my morning devotions is a “quiet” time where I don’t do anything but ask the Holy Spirit if there is something he wants to share with me. This is a wonderful time of taking a moment and centering my heart and mind on Christ and getting my mind off of the state of our world and the fear that can consume. It is the first thing that I write in my journal in the morning and has become a very important part of my day. Sometimes I don’t feel like God is sharing anything specific with me and I just write that I spent time listening. Other times I get profound words that I write in my journal and, many times, don’t share them with anyone else. Not because they are irrelevant to anyone else, but I take a moment to appreciate that God shared something with just me. There are a few times I felt like God wanted me to share what he shows me with others and I had something pretty cool I wanted to share with you.
 
Here is what I felt like God shared with me: “Judgement of others is the byproduct of forgetting where God has brought you from.” Everyone has a story of where they either are or what God has brought them out of. Most of the terrible interaction with people (online or in real life) is simply a byproduct of people judging others and basing it on a sense of self righteousness and feeling like they are “above” where others operate in life, which is not true. People who have found Jesus are not ANY better than those who have not yet found the forgiveness of Christ. Once Christians understand this vital point, their empathy level goes through the roof and correction Is based on love for others and not righteousness of self. People can tell if you are just trying to “bring them up to your righteousness” or help them along with the Love of Jesus.
 
The Bible shares a portion of scripture where Paul tells the people of Corinth in
1 Corinthians 11:1 to “follow him as he follows Christ” which was a replication of what Jesus said when people asked him about his actions in John 5:19 -
“So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.”
 
Think of it this way, if we are striving to be like Christ then we don’t have time to judge others and compare others to ourselves. This is not excusing the actions of people when they go directly against God and his Word, but we must always remember that our passion and focus needs to be on Jesus first and not looking to be the “corrector of the Gospel” but to let the Gospel be lived out in us so that people will become jealous and want the peace, love, joy and hope that should be evident in the life of a follower of Christ.

Praying for you and our country in the relationships we nurture and the bridges we build to see Jesus lifted up on this earth until He returns!