Do you think highly of yourself? Do you look down on others? Do you look at others with a judgmental attitude? Have you looked at yourself honestly? Do you judge others in the same way you want to be judged?
Our culture has taught us to look down on one another. For the smallest thing someone does there is someone else who is condemning them. We have all seen it and felt it. We despise it. Yet we turn around and do the same ourselves.
Jesus tells us not to judge others or we will be judged (Matthew 7:1). He continues by saying that we will be judged in the same way we judge others (Matthew 7:2). What does He mean? He means to stop looking down on one another. He means we need to stop thinking too highly of ourselves.
Jesus continues His statement by telling us to clean up our act before we try to clean up someone else’s. Isn’t that the next part of the problem in our culture today? Everyone is trying to fix everyone else. Everyone thinks they are better than the next person and they need to fix them.
Perhaps we all need to stop trying to fix everyone else and first take a look at our own lives. If we asked God to work on us, correct our bad behavior we might find this world becoming a better place. Jesus points out in today’s passage this very concept.
I pray we all determine to eliminate our judgmental behavior. I pray we seek God’s forgiveness for our judgmentalism. I pray each of us ask the Holy Spirit to change us from the inside out. Stop being judgmental. Stop condemning others. Ask for forgiveness. Ask God to change you. Be like Jesus.
Matthew 7:5 “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Marty Pressey 