impression.

Matthew 7:1 – “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”

Some of my deepest friendships started out with bad first impressions. I can think of at least 3 different people who I judged negatively by their behavior right off the bat, only to discover some time later what incredible human beings they really are. Fortunately for me, they gave me another chance…

Here’s the thing about judging others – it does absolutely no good. It hurts our relationships. It causes us to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. And for some reason, it makes us think we know enough to determine a person’s intrinsic value. This is all very faulty.

I may think I know what a person’s thinking when they act in a way that bothers me, but I don’t. Most times, I don’t have any understanding of where a person is truly coming from, what they’re really dealing with, what has happened in their past to make them react the way they do…all I have to go on is what’s on the outside. And while what’s on the outside often irks me, I will never be in the right to judge them for it. I certainly wouldn’t want to be judged based on my own outward appearance, because a lot of times that’s just a front to hide what I’m really feeling.

We have never been granted the responsibility to judge anyone, nor will we ever. And I thank God for that. How could I possibly be a just judge when I have no idea what’s in a person’s heart? But thanks be to God, the responsibility is His alone, and He knows everything about us. Only He can judge fairly. And if He sees fit to accept me into His family, knowing all I’ve done and thought and said in my few years on this earth, then who am I to say someone else shouldn’t be shown the same mercy?

When we put ourselves in the position to judge, we jeopardize the opportunity to develop meaningful relationships with the people around us. Is it worth it?