Judge Not Least Ye Be Judged... By Yourself

I often find myself being quite critical of those around me. From the “crazy” political ideas I find in my social sphere online to "incompetent" drivers all around me, I consistently find myself to be the most intelligent person wherever I go - in my mind at least - and there is a lot of evidence that I can see to support this claim. Take, for example, that lady who was weaving through traffic like she was running from something. Did we not end up at the same stoplight together? What about the grandpa camping in the fast lane? Does he even check his mirrors? Who do these people think they are? Just living in their little world where they seem to believe they are the most important person…

 Because I've never been in a hurry before...

 Or wasn't paying attention when there was a line of cars behind me in the fast lane... 

But that's beside the point! I'll just keep pointing out the faults of others so I can ignore my own imperfections…

This problem goes even deeper as I find it affects my courage to make changes for good in my life and the lives of those around me. I've spent so much time judging others that I know exactly what others would think if I did something silly in an attempt to try to change the world and my overly critical brain turns on me and suffocates me with fear. What if you fail? What if you're wrong? If I'm wrong and I fail, then I'm no better than everyone I judged to be less than me. And If I've already judged them to be less than me, How do you think I'm going to view myself after my perceived failure?

Let me try and explain this from another lens.

 Think about athletes in sports who “talk trash” about the other team. Talking trash is a lose-lose situation. Let's say you win after talking trash. Well good for you, you beat a bad team; however, let's say you lose, even worse, you just lost to a team you just said was bad. The judgments you passed can come back to bite hard. No one will be giving you any credit for beating a bad team. Consider the alternative. If you choose to respect your opponent, you will win no matter what. You either beat a good team or you lose to a good team. Your lose-lose situation turns into a win-win, simply based on the way you presented your thoughts and judgments.

Like trash-talking, judging people is a lose-lose situation and will bring equivalent results. Conversely, seeing the best in people and building them up will yield similar victories for you.

The next time you find yourself judging someone, just remember; that judgement will come back full circle, and it will more than likely be from you. Judge not, lest ye be judged… by yourself.

So in order to change the world; and overcome the fear of failure, one must give grace to receive grace.

---

At Believe, we aren’t perfect, but we are trying to change our attitudes and beliefs that keep us from progressing. We would love to have you join us, as we believe that you have the potential to change the world, for good.