Unbelievable!
By Stephanie LaCasse
By Stephanie LaCasse
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who
pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are
condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
Romans 2:1 (NASB)
Romans 2:1 (NASB)
“Ugh! Get off your phone and drive, lady!” I honked my horn
angrily at the driver sitting at the stoplight ahead of me. I was in a hurry -
- as I often am - - and had no patience for that kind of inattentiveness. But not even a
moment later, the Lord brought it to my attention that I had just looked up…from
looking at my phone!
Okay,
Lord…You have my attention.
A verse came to mind. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” [1]
Stephanie,
you were just looking at your own phone!
The rest of the way home, I thought about the woman in front
of me. Where was she going? Did she have something on her mind? Perhaps she was
missing her children after a long day at work? Maybe she was looking down at
her lap because she was waiting for a call from a loved one overseas? Or maybe she
was simply caught up in prayer and didn’t see the light change?
There’s a good chance she was on Facebook or checking her
texts as people often do at red lights. Don’t deny it - - we all do it. So was
it really my place to judge? Today’s key
verse is sobering to me. “You, therefore, have no excuse…” We really don’t. But
as believers, we are not called to judge; we are called to listen, understand
and bring others to Jesus. That’s it.
We will all stand before God’s throne one day. We will all
have to give an account for our lives and our behavior…good and bad. I’m
grateful my entrance into heaven is based on what Jesus did…and not on what
I’ve done! [2] Right then and there, I apologized to the Lord for my judgment
of the driver in the car ahead of me. I’ll leave the judgment to the Judge!
GOING
DEEPER:
1. Have you ever caught yourself mentally judging others?
2. What is a way you can change your behavior today?
2. What is a way you can change your behavior today?
FURTHER READING:
[1] Matthew 7:1-5
[2] Ephesians 2:8-9
[2] Ephesians 2:8-9
Stephanie is a mom of three young sons
and wife to Dave, who is currently in seminary preparing for chaplaincy in the
US Army. In her spare time, she’s employed at a law firm.
