Who are you judging?

It’s so easy to judge others and see where they fall short (Matt 7:1). Oftentimes, we judge others knowing nothing about them beyond superficial facts, if that. It’s much easier to see where someone else has issues than to face ourselves. I can usually look at someone else’s life and see where they have made mistakes or need to make better decisions. That is much easier than looking at my own issues. But that is what we are allowed to do – judge ourselves. God is gracious and kind and gives us a chance to hold ourselves accountable. 

In fact, scripture puts it like this – “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (1 Cor 11:31-32). This passage calls for us to examine our own lives and reflect on our activities and attitudes to take appropriate action. Instead of condemning others for their sin, we need to reflect on our own, seeking God to show us what inside of us is unlike Him so we can repent and surrender our will to His (Gal 2:20).

This prevents us from getting too confident in ourselves. If we don’t look at ourselves and recognize our faults and need for a savior, we can become prideful and arrogant in our service to the Lord (Prov 16:18). It can lead us to replacing the Lord with our service to Him making it an idol. To honor Him and give Him the glory due His name we must be humble and self-aware (Prov 22:4). We must never forget that we are not perfect, Jesus is. We are not worthy, Jesus is. We are not righteous, Jesus is. He gave us His righteousness and took on our sin and paid the price for it (2 Cor 5:21). We must never forget that He paid the price instead of us. We owe Him everything. 

So, who are you judging? Yourself or others? Are you pleasing God where you are? If not, change it. No time like the present. Don’t put it off. Don’t put Him off.