Thou shalt not judge...

Matthew 7:1-5
Jesus said, "Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother´s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ´Let me remove that splinter from your eye,´ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother´s eye.”

If you judge people, you will have no time to love them. -Mother Teresa


We find it easy to judge those around us. We judge them with a self set standard, quickly and with little thought. Worse still, we forget how guilty we are of the lies and faults of our own hearts.
How do we ask for mercy from God if we see and treat others with judgement in our own lives? Why, are we so easily bothered by the defects we perceive in others? Why are we are inclined to berate those we assume are not as good as ourselves? We have high expectations, especially for those we love. Yet underneath it all, our expectations are unrealistic and unforgiving.
Are we so unaware of our own weaknesses and failings that we expect perfection of others? Or do we seek out and analyze the obvious faults of someone else so as to escape our own?
If we truly care about helping others, We will begin by correcting the pride and selfishness in my own life first.

I try to stay aware of my thoughts and not to judge others (even those I feel are judging me). I am saved ONLY by the grace of God as I am far from perfect. I'm going out on a limb on this post, but this is a subject that is very close to my heart.
I have felt jugded at many times in my life, I haven't always been the best friend, mom, daughter, employee, wife etc. I haven't always tried my best. I've often (and still do to an extent) held the belief that if you don't like it, then don't be a part of my life.
I believe we can get along. I also believe that we can learn from differences.

You may never know what someone may have contribute to your life. If you judge a book by it's cover, then you may miss out on being a part of a potentially beautiful story.