Judging others

Did my quiet time and happened to read this verse from the bible which touched me a lot.

Matthew 7:1-5

Judging Others

¹"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ²For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

³"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵You 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.

Criticizing others is something I tend to do when I see something wrong with this person's life. I know that this is a bad habit that will eventually cause unpleasantness. Sadly, my unwillingness to change makes this bad habit deeply rooted inside me. Ask Qi Hao and he will tell you how many times I have reprimanded or criticized his mistakes. Although many times I try to tell myself that by doing so I am actually helping him, the outcome doesn't seem right. People tend to feel hurt after a scolding or criticism and it doesn't help this person to overcome his or her mistakes. It is pride that makes me think that i am better than the other person.

Judging people is wrong at the first place. Who has given me the authority to judge someone? no one! The bible clearly says that when you judge, you will be judged as well. After I judged someone and look into my own life, I realized that actually I am not faultless after all. I can be caught doing the same thing that I despised or criticized, like time-wasting, lack of discipline etc. If I myself do the same thing, who am I to tell other people to stop doing those things then?

An attitude of self-righteousness has no place in the Christian life. That should be plain to see.

A Prayer: Lord, help me not to get caught up in pointing out the “little” sins in others’ lives, while ignoring my own glaring sin. I’m thankful that with repentance comes forgiveness. Amen.