JUDGMENT FREE

            Judging others is part of human nature but Jesus warned us in Matthew 7:1-2 - “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

             It’s a challenge to avoid judging people. Whether we express our thoughts out loud or we keep them to ourselves, we fail often. We ignore our own issues and instead point out the faults in others. Sometimes we do it because it makes us feel better about our own inadequacies so we put others down to lift ourselves up. That goes against everything Jesus preached. Sometimes we judge people because we think we’re above someone else’s mistakes or we think we’re a “better” Christian. We look down on them as if we’re flawless, which we’re not. The truth is we’re all equal in God’s eyes regardless of everything we think makes us important.

            Christians often take a harsh, critical stance against those we disagree with on serious topics. We forget what Jesus did. Jesus LOVED on people. Jesus was LOVE. Jesus is LOVE. Of course, we have certain beliefs and it’s important to not compromise our values. But we are commanded to LOVE everybody, and the No. 1 way we can live out our Christianity is to try as best we can to imitate Christ’s love. - Rob Maaddi