3 for three : 2. judging

People judge one another all the time. it's everywhere around us. Whether it's the rich or the poor. Like when that girl walks by with her hair done and makeup perfect and the cutest out fit you might think, "she's so into herself". Don't know her, never spoke with her... prejudice. Or race, color, educated or not, beauty or lack of. How many people are looking for their soul mate and when someone passes by in sweats they immediately dub them as a "hellls naw"?

We judge people all the time all around us because of our awareness of our own short comings to make us feel that hint better. We all have this pride, a real part of us thinks we are ACTUALLY better then the person we are talking about. We get so caught up in our own emotional drowning trauma that we need to survive, stay alive, and we grab whatever piece of drift would, life saver, friend or stranger to keep our heads above water thinking only of our survival. Not the fact that we've now pushed the other person under water, they can't breathe as we stand on their shoulders and gasp for life.

But the fact is we are judging from a perceived reality. Example, when we look in the mirror in the morning we stand a certain ridiculous way that makes us look the best possible. Then we go out the rest of our day with that image of ourselves in our head. But in reality there will be times we sit and don't look so cute, or are distracted on the phone and slouch and puff that tummy out. Yet we are still in our mind that perfect little self we saw in the mirror that morning from that one angle. So we go and judge other people based on our own "perceived reality".

Many of us have a good heart full of all these wonderful ambitious intentions. But if there's no action to show for it- how're we different. We judge other people's actions against our intensions when in the end we're usually just as bad as they are. How many times do we do what we "intend" to do? Are insecurity, pride, and divided heart leads us to judge others non-stop.

But i'm here to stand up and say we need to strive not to Gossip about our friends or judge the people around us. Our circumstances are not our own but half the time a situation we were born into. Not because we deserved it but because that's who's tummy we were in or the family that adopted us. How do we have any right then to compare someone else's circumstances as if they hand picked their existence on their own. We should instead always look at ourselves and be simply thankful. Recognize the gifts in our lives as that: gifts and that we have zillions of dirty parts of ourselves that we may hide better then other people but don't have less then other people.

We need to understand grace and mercy and grant this to the people around us. Help others around us when they're in need and lift them up as we hope to be when we're down. Someone once said that all human action is based on a cry out for love or a service to give love. Let's recognize that in our fellow people that surround us every day and respond accordingly. Let's live a counter cultural life and lift up those around us and let someone else do the judging-plus who wants that sort of responsibility anyway?

*** based on a eagle rock bible study session.