“Who is the worst sinner you know?”
This is the opening question my pastor asked on Sunday. Of all the significant things he shared, this is one of the biggest things that really stuck with me… and maybe not for the reason you may think.
I don’t generally think of myself as a “judgy” person. I despise being judged. Yes, I understand it’s inevitable… that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
One of my driving scriptures (from the Bible) growing up was Romans 14:4. Paul is making a pretty bold statement against being all judgy. All that to say… it was engrained in my heart that I didn’t have to tolerate judgment… and I certainly shouldn’t do it! I give a lot of attention to not being judgy and trying to interject or distract when I see conversations going that way.
So why? Why did this sentence seem so significant to me?
Well, for whatever reason, over the last season, I’ve caught myself being a little judgemental. Blaming it on feeling out of place or misunderstood (or whatever excuse here).
Here’s the kicker… the people I feel judged by are the people who don’t KNOW me. In turn, guess who I feel most judgy towards? You guessed it… the people I don’t take time to get to KNOW. HOLY COW… the pattern is obvious [for me]. It’s a lot easier to judge people who don’t know me or I don’t know. Being KNOWN seems to be a key to this current puzzle.
Maybe the next time I feel judgemental or like I’m being judged, I’ll take the time to get to know the person I feel that way about. Perhaps this could be a step towards being better… and why wouldn’t I want to do that?