Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things? Romans 2:3 (NLT)
The other night we went out to dinner with some family. One of my sons was there. We’ll call him Joe. You see, there is a group of kids (they aren’t kids any more) that grew up with my children. They call me Mama and I call them my kids. We began talking about this little coffee shop that we like. I like it because they have options that fit in my healthy lifestyle and they play Christian music.
Joe was saying that he finally won the owner over. I asked what he meant and he said he didn’t think she liked him too much because of all of his tattoos. The mama bear in me kicked in. I said “If it’s a Christian coffee shop, she shouldn’t be judging you based on how you look.” Joe smiled and my son said “Aren’t you judging her?”
Duh! Why yes I was! How easy is it for us to slip into the same behaviors we are judging others for? Maybe that’s why Jesus said not to do it. Without even thinking, trying to defend one of my own, I was doing the same thing I was criticizing this woman for. I didn’t know her. I don’t know if the problem was his tattoos. Maybe she’s just shy. Maybe she had a problem with strangers in the past. Who knows?
Only God. And truly, this is a perfect example of why we should extend grace to all people.
In John 12:47 Jesus said “I have come to save the world and not to judge it.” And there is the best reason not to judge of them all. If we are trying to be like Jesus, we need to remember his mission. Love everyone and through that love, they will know him and be saved.