Don't judge others

A few months ago, I met a young man and his girlfriend after a service. They had more tattoos and piercings than anybody I´d ever seen. The man had tattoos up his arm to his neck, even on his face, and the young lady must have had a hundred different piercings. To be honest, at first, a critical spirit tried to rise up inside. I had thoughts like "Why do they look like that?" and "Boy, they must have a lot of problems, a lot of issues." But instead of staying there, I took out my critical eyes and put in God´s eyes. When I did, I had a different perspective. I was glad that they felt comfortable coming to church. I was glad that they took time to honor God.

Come to find out, he was the leader of a very successful heavy metal band. They just had a big concert in an arena here in Houston the night before. He said to me, Joel, I have never been in church one day in my life before. This is the first time I have ever set foot in a house of worship." He then gave me one of their CD´s and said, "Listen to track number seven. That´s a song I wrote after listening to you."

After visiting with them, I found that they were not anything like I expected. They were some of the kindest, most genuine people that someone could ever meet even though on the outside, there were a thousand reasons to be judgmental and critical.

I´ve found that people today are so quick to judge others by their outside appearance and quick to find fault. If somebody is not just like them, if they´re just a little bit different, instead of giving them the benefit of the doubt, they look them up and down and start to pick them apart thinking thoughts like "Well, I would never dress like that." "I would never drive that car." "Well, if I were them, I wouldn´t have taken a vacation in this economy." "If I were them, I wouldn´t send my kids to that school." "If I were them, I wouldn´t wear that much jewelry." But here´s the thing, you´re not them. You don´t really know what you would do because you haven´t walked in their shoes. Don´t judge others because you don´t know what they´ve been through. You don´t know the life they´ve lived and the obstacles they´ve faced. They might have a thousand tattoos covering them or wear jewelry from head to toe; they might not dress the way you would like them to, but it doesn´t give you a right to judge. You have never lived their situation.

When you´re tempted to be critical and find fault in others, remember the enemy is called the accuser of the brethren. Recognize where the source is coming from. He´s the one that wants you to be critical. I don´t know about you, but I´m not going over to that side. I´m going to stay on God´s side. I´m going to believe the best in others. There may be a thousand things that I can see that´s wrong with them, but I´m going to look and look until I find at least one thing that´s right. I´ve been forgiven much, so I´m going to love much. And if I err, I´m not going to err on the side of judgment. I´m going to err on the side of mercy. After all, where would we all be without the mercy of God? If I hadn´t had good parents and been raised in a good church, who knows where I would be today? I´m not going to be condemning. I´m not going to be a faultfinder.

How somebody spends their money, where they go on vacation, how they raise their children, or what kind of car they drive, I´ve learned that is none of my business. I don´t know about you, but I have a hard enough time trying to run my own life without trying to run somebody else´s life!

One of the best ways that we can keep a pure heart free from judgment is to learn to mind our own business. If somebody takes four vacations a year, that´s none of my business. If they drive around town in a limousine or come to church in a boat, that´s none of my business. If they wear rings on every finger and every toe, that´s none of my business.

Be careful not to fall in this trap of being judgmental of others. It will rob you of your joy and peace and allow the enemy to have a foothold in your life. Comparison, jealousy and strife have room to enter whenever we entertain these thoughts.

Jesus put it like this, "Don´t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults - unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging." Matthew 7:3-5 (The Message).

Decide to live judgment free in your life. If you do, you´ll not only live with more peace, but God will bless you, and your relationships will be blessed because the Bible says that in the same measure we judge, we too will be judged.

I´ve learned to not pass judgment on others. There are too many other things in life that need our focus, and I don´t know about you, but I need to use all the focus I have on what God has called me to do.