Turn Judgement Into Prayer
Last night I came across a passage that I have read many times but it caught my attention.
"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.
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. How 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? 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."
-Matthew 7:1-5
Judging others is easy to do. We judge others to make our mistakes seem lesser. While they seem lesser in our eyes, God sees sin differently than we do. When we sin, we sin, and sin separates us from God.
"But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear."
-Isaiah 59:2
When we judge other's sin, WE SIN!
The parable of the plank in the eye tells us recognizing and judging are not one in the same. We are going to RECOGNIZE sin in other people's lives. We should recognize sin, we have to know what a sin is in order to not commit sin. It coincides with knowing God's word. The more we meditate and know God's word the easier it becomes to know right from wrong (not saying that mistakes aren't made, because they most definitely are)! I believe when we draw near to God and work to make his way of life our own we gain wisdom and with this wisdom we are able to move from judging others to helping others and sharing that wisdom in a Christ-like manner.
"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another"
-Proverbs 27:17
One last note. I often find myself not only judging others for their actions, but actually telling God how I feel about it. I'm gossiping to my Heavenly Father about His child. Have you ever tried to talk bad about a child to their parent? Parents do NOT like hearing someone talk about their baby. God loves ALL of his children. He knows what they've done, what they are doing, and what they will do. He loves each one and has a plan and purpose for their future (Jeremiah 29:11). He doesn't want to hear me ramble about other's problems when he knows I have my own. I believe he would much rather discuss my problems and actions with me. This doesn't mean we shouldn't pray for others, but we know there's a difference between praying for someone and gossiping about someone. These two things are done in completely different manners.
So, take a look at your own life. Judge yourself and then take it to God. When you fix yourself and draw closer to God he will give you the wisdom and mindset to help others.