“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:1-5)
We are all guilty of this from time to time, but it's truly difficult to not judge other people who appear to be "different" from ourselves. Why is judgement so common in the world we live in? We have come a long way from the days of oppression in the United States, but we still have a long way to go.
Jesus tells us to examine our own motives and conduct instead of judging others. The traits that bother us in others are often times the habits we dislike the most in ourselves. Our bad habits are the ones we want to change in others. Do you ever find it easy to magnify others faults while seemingly overlooking your own? Jesus' statement of "Do not judge" is in direct conflict against the hypocritical and hurtful attitude of tearing others down to build oneself up.
What better day than Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. day to reserve some of the criticism that is so easy to dish out to others and take a look at our own faults. Jesus calls us to be discerning rather than negative; leave the final judgement to God.
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