Deuteronomy 11:5
“Your children didn’t see how the LORD cared for you in the wilderness until you arrived here.
Some peoples’ children are rude. Some peoples’ children are kind. Some are disrespectful, while others surprise you with their manners. Some peoples’ children are greedy and others are giving. Some are stubborn and rebellious while others are rule followers and go with the flow. Still other peoples’ children are mean and careless while others are friendly and caring. Are you getting the picture? All people are different and we all come from different walks of life. As the above scripture verse states, no one knows what God has done in our lives, it is between Him and us. Once I made this realization, I was astonished to discover…..I some peoples’ child! Someone probably has muttered that statement about me when I did something they were not happy with. I have been judged by others around me and sometimes it may not have been accurate. How many times have I done that only to have God show me later the error of my ways? (Many)
Once again I am on a road where I must learn to be less judgmental of others. Why as Christians do we find this so hard to do? It’s even in the Bible that we are not to judge others for that is reserved solely for God. Now of course I am not speaking about those who do wrong in society and have to go before the court system, I am merely speaking of us in general as Christians. I know that once we accept Jesus into our hearts we become different and begin to feel as though we are aliens among the land. We suddenly see things in a totally different light and we get easily frustrated when others just don’t seem to get it. We get irritated when others swear or gossip. Frustrated when others violate the rules of the road. Angry when we see parents mistreating their children in public. And the list is endless! Yet in all of this we lose sight of the human, flesh characteristics we all have. Remember my blog a few times ago? God loves us all equally. No one person is better than another. He loves each individual the same.
I am really trying hard to be more like Jesus. I am aspiring to be more like the gentle lamb than the angry, squawking screech owl. I want to be slower to anger and more fair to everyone. I want to take the word “judgmental” right out of my dictionary so that I can’t even use it. If only I had a secret key to use. If I could only unlock the part of my heart which sees with Jesus’ eyes instead of mine. What a dream, to love like He does. To show compassion the way He does. To be kind and gentle and accepting of faults, like He is. Now, I admit that I may be asking the impossible, yet I know I can work on getting better, not perfect. Watching my words and treating others ALWAYS with respect. Stop judging people by their actions and begin to get to know the reasons behind the reactions. We can never begin to see what God has done in someone else’s life, therefore we cannot start to assuming how they will react in different situations.
Where do you stand? Are you aspiring to change anything in your life? I invite you to share your ideas and insights. I feel our journey here on earth as Christians is to change our hearts daily to become closer to the Father. We should be headed towards greatness and helping others do the same. Once we learn the secrets of being like Jesus, we should share them with others so the world can slowly begin to change in preparation for the coming of Jesus. It’s a daily renewing of the mind. A moment by moment seeking of God in our lives. It is also entails worrying more about our own actions and not the actions of others. It does no good to continually point out the faults and failures of others when you can’t even see you have flaws of your own.
So it’s time for me to take some deep breaths. Meditate on those things of God which will unlock the part of my heart to see like Jesus does. It is in this coming of Spring that I will begin to widen my horizons and keep tabs on my own actions and reactions to those around me. I will try to shut my mouth even before it opens and think for just a second about what is about to spill from it. Is what I am about to say true? Is it uplifting or degrading? Will it be judgmental or encouraging? Only I can make the choice to choose to monitor myself and be accountable to the things I speak into life. I alone must be seeking God for direction and wisdom. I myself must desire to be more like Jesus before things can change in my life. It will take time, energy and silence! I want to be know as Somebody’s’ Child, God’s!
Always remember: Some peoples’ children are famous. Some peoples’ children are in pain. Some peoples’ children are dying. Some peoples’ children are lost. Some peoples’ children have no hope. But all peoples’ children are Children of God.
Step Upon the Golden Road with Me! 
“What a dream, to love like He does. To show compassion the way He does. To be kind and gentle and accepting of faults, like He is.”
I think if we were able to somehow get to this point, our lives would probably be a lot more steady, peaceful, and not so gritty-teethed if that makes sense.
I actually thought about you today. Unfortunately, I don’t have my own transportation, especially since I have been out of the job for nearly three years. But I ride the bus mostly from school to home everyday and usually either on the bus or at the bus station, I encounter some of the most strangest and inconsiderate beings of the city. People will walk up to you and ask you for money, people will smoke in the non-smoking section and give you no consideration or second thought to how you may feel about it, there are mothers who are very aggressive towards their kids, there are loud people, very smelly people, people who talk to themselves, people who play loud music, most of which consist of dirty music, there are rough looking men who dress like their dangerous, women who dress like they have no self-value. This is where I make TONS of judgement automatically nearly on a daily basis when I’m down here. People make me mad here becuase they are rude. I am so thankful that security is walking around becuase a lot of times I do feel threatened.
The reason I thought about you was becuase something did happen on the way home. I decided to the sit in the back of the bus and I usually do so becuase I like to observe everything around me, especially things in front of me as the rides can be pleasant. This girl probably in her teens or early twenties, decided to sit in the back with me with like 3 to four kids. These kids were probably around 6 to 9 years old and they were already using profanity and degrading names so openly. The mother or guardian even responded to them by calling them a degrading name. I was appalled that young kids such as they were already at this point in their life where they had such filthy tongues. A man her age along with a younger boy probably in his teens and another woman with a toddler came. I’m sure they were all either family or friends, but inside I was so disgusted with the way they were raising their kids. So, here I was, a college girl who has too high of opinions about herself was surrounded by young people who already kids of their own who are growing up probably in broken homes and missing out on a lot of home training. Then they’ll grow up, do the same to their kids and the cycle never ends. Brenda, I am not going to lie. I was highly disgusted!
Nearly on a daily basis I see teen girls who are mothers and it’s such a sad and disappointing thing. The thing that really upsets me and leaves me pulling my hair out is how these girls have one kid, then walk around with another ready to pop out from their bellies. Sometimes they’d get on the bus and take up nearly more than 4 seats with 3 to 4 kids and not to mention the baby stroller that usually clogs the aisle. It’s bad enough that buses fill up quickly during the first trip. It’s just a constant nagging becuase I want these girls to do better in their life and have kids at a convenient time in their lives, but you think of the welfare checks and other inconveniences that OTHERS have to suffer based on their poor choices. Then again, I just assume it was poor choices. What if these girls were in a different situation where perhaps they were forced into this without their say or choice?
But at the same time, I KNEW, I KNEW 100% that I had no right to judge these people. I don’t know them. All I know is the first 15 minutes of their life. And usually I always tell myself to be thankful for where I am placed in my life. I have no children or any other major responsibilities. Although I do need to keep my grades up and stop spending so much of my student loans on things i don’t need!!!! :p.
But Brenda, it is so hard not to judge. It’s like the only way to stop judging is by catching yourself in the moment and then convincing yourself to stop. But we’re all human beings with our own troubles and circumstances. Judging is probably going to be the test that I’ll make a bad grade on!
Very true, by far I think the judging is so natural for us as humans. My daughter holds me accountable at times when I start making judgment calls and it is a good reminder. As I was reading your story I felt an urge to share with you. Maybe God has you in this position right now so that you will see something and make a difference. What if, just if…you talked to one of these girls? Would you be able to make a difference in their lives? Could you gently share something Jesus with them in a short conversation? I don’t mean by Bible thumping or anything but just having a real conversation, showing compassion. I think too often we as Christians keep God to ourselves and that is not the purpose of our being saved by grace. Are not the greatest testimonies usually started out with “and one day I was talking to this person and my whole life changed”?
We are all called to be witnesses of the grace God has given to each of us. Maybe we didn’t grow up in a broken home. Perhaps we had parents who taught us right from wrong and how to act in public, but what about those who did not? I think this is why I am so drawn to be a youth leader. So much of our society are unaccepting of the teens it just makes me wonder if they were ever teens themselves. Maybe if we all stepped out of our boxes more often, more would hear the name Jesus and want to be a part of what we have. I will pray God stirs our hearts to step out not in judgment but to help the judged.
YOU JUST MAKE ME SMILE…. 🙂
GOD BLESS!!!