Soothe Your Spirit Sunday: Letting Go of Judgment



Photo courtesy of jannoon028; freedigitalphotos.net

 I have to be honest.  I struggled with Sunday.  What should I do with Sunday?  I want Sunday to be...inspirational, serene.

I don't want to be a preacher.  I don't want to turn anyone away.  But, this blog is mine and it is about my perspective, right?  So I'm taking a chance and letting you see my true heart.

I love God and I want everyone to love Him.  I want to see every single one of you in heaven when it is our time to go there.  This blog post is not about converting you or convicting you, however, I am myself and the most important part of me is that I am Christian.  My lifelong dream is to get to heaven and have God say He is proud of me.

If you have questions about Christianity, I recommend a book, available from Amazon, by Lee Strobel.  It was a great starting point for getting my questions answered many years ago.  It is written from a skeptic's perspective.  Click to check it out: The Case for Christ

I'd like to say something about judgment today because this has been something I've struggled with in my life.  I used to be very judgmental, and I'd like to think I'm improving.  Well, I am improving.  Judgment, I think, has to do with pride...I used to be very prideful.  Thankfully, God has knocked me off my hiney a few times and finally, I got it.

Next time you are at the store and you have a surly associate "helping" you, open your heart and smile.  Treat him or her with kindness.  You have not walked in that person's shoes.

Next time you see a harried mother at the grocery store trying to wrangle her screaming kids and load up her groceries, don't assume she's a bad mother.  Assume she's having a tough day and help her by loading her groceries or taking her cart back.  You would be amazed at how people respond when you do something as simple as returning their grocery cart.

Next time you hear a tidbit of gossip about someone, don't repeat it.  Go to the subject of the gossip; see if that person needs help.

Next time you see someone paying for groceries with food stamps, don't assume they are a lazy no-good freeloader.  Maybe she is a woman whose husband left her without child support;  maybe he is a man who quit working to take care of his ill wife or child. 

The bottom line here is:  You don't really know.

The best part is, you don't need to know.  God takes care of everything, making sure everyone experiences just treatment.  He lifts the burden of judgment from us, leaving us free to give generously and with love.

Recently in my prayer life, well in the last several months, I have been praying that he He will fill my life with blessings that I may pour out onto others around me.  This is not because I'm such a wonderful person; it's because I need help overcoming the human condition that makes us judge and move on without thought for others. 

Stop and be a blessing today.  I guarantee you will affect someone's life and your own.



Photo courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti; freedigitalphotos.net

 Sky Photo; Jannoon028; freedigitalphotos.net

Helping Hand Pic; renjith krishnan; freedigitalphotos.net

Sun w/silhouettes pic; Danilo Rizzuti; freedigitalphotos.net