We Are So Good AT Judging Others

We are so good at judging others. I think at times, we all feel we are “experts.”   Yet, I have learned, a layer on the outside doesn’t always tell the whole story of what goes on, on the inside.  We may think we know what is going on with someone, but we can be wrong. 

Our judgment calls, can not only be misplaced, they can damage someone’s reputation – not to mention  - hurt them deeply.

We need to be careful.

I understand that people don’t act the way they should sometimes. Whether it’s someone who we don’t feel is grieving a personal loss, or someone who isn’t handling something with the character and integrity we feel they should – we don’t see life through their eyes. We don’t feel life with their heart. So, we need to be careful about how we spread our words about them, to others.

I believe we should take care of each other. We should hold one another accountable. At times, that means confrontation – as much as we might hate it. But hopefully, those times only come after great deliberation, prayer, thought, and wisdom have gone into exploring the person, their actions, and the situation.

We need to remember, that we can always be wrong.  We can speak unfairly, judge unfairly, and dislike unfairly -  without knowing all the facts.

Life isn’t always clear-cut. People don’t always see things the way we do. And they certainly don’t always respond in the ways we think they should. That’s why grace and mercy are such important qualities to incorporate into our lives, as we love on one another. They keep us balanced, open-minded, and able to forgive issues that might otherwise become big issues.

God says to, “judge not, lest ye be judged.” I know I hate being judged. I hate feeling like people misunderstand me and misrepresent who I am and what I’m about. So, I know I would hate to do that to someone else. If we can give each other the benefit of the doubt without jumping to conclusions, it will give us the time needed to gather more facts and information. Information that may shed a whole new light on what is going on.

Everyone has layers. We aren’t all good at letting other people see inside of those layers. So let’s be careful about how we label one another. Let’s be careful how we identify someone. For we could be so wrong.