Even pagans.

I have been on the recieving end of wrongful judgment by others plenty of times. I think it's safe to say that all of us have at some point or another, whether we have been aware of it or not. Being judged does not feel good. It's easy to see why when you are on the recieving end. You know your motives, your heart, your side of the story. You know things that the person judging you does not.

We all have a past. Many of us have damage that was done long before we had a choice in the matter that has shaped the way we think, act and respond to certain triggers. When you judge someone for their decisions or reaction to a circumstance you are denying that person their story. You are taking the tiny bit of knowledge you think you may have and forming a "truth" about someone off of that. Isn't it easy to see how wrong that is when you are on the recieving end? Yet when we are the ones dishing it out, speaking our "truths" about people, it's not so easy to see how wrong it is. Quite the opposite, actually. It's easier to justify why you have the opinion you do and rationalize it with how the other person has acted wrongly. This is even easier when the people around you get on board with your opinion. Satan is a pro at finding ways to convince us our sin is not sin.

Yesterday, I not only heard other Christians wrongfully judging someone, but I also had to ask a fellow Christian to forgive me for doing the very same thing. There is nothing like being convicted of your own sin while watching that sin in action. Give me a moment while I remove the plank from my own eye and plead for forgiveness I do not deserve.

It is in these moments, the ones where we are slapped in the face with truth and humbled that we learn and grow the most. But only if we are willing to do so. Only if we are willing to admit that we have failed, own that fact and allow it to make us better. Over and over. As many times as it takes.

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. // Matthew 5:43-49