The WORD today reminds me that I am not in a position to judge others.
There is a saying that you should not judge a book by its cover. And some make fun of it by saying that you should not judge a book if you're not a judge! Funny, but it has some sense into it. It is something we can relate the gospel to. We should not be judging others. We are not judges. God is.
It is easy to judge others. It is easy to tell what is wrong with others. It is easy to talk about the sins or imperfections of others. Sometimes, when the person is annoying, it can even be fun to talk about these things. However, Jesus in the gospel tells us we should not.
Judging others is usually a sign of our own insecurities.
We sometimes see and focus on the wrong of others instead of improving ourselves because it is easier to. Improving ourselves is painful and difficult, and it is easy to just focus and magnify the imperfections of others to prevent the attention be on us. We want to hide our own imperfections. We want to escape and forget that we have things to fix ourselves. When we talk about others, we feel that we can shun away the criticism that our own shortcomings bring.
We should just focus on and improve ourselves.
We do not know what others are going through. We do not know the real story. And regardless if we do, we are not in a position to judge. Only God is. And what he wants us to do is focus on ourselves. What he wants us to do is improve ourselves. What he wants us to do is help ourselves, change ourselves so we can be more and more like him. And if we are full of him, then we can help, not judge, others and improve them.
When was the last time I judged others? When was the last time I judged others based on what I see, and end up feeling sorry or embarrassed after knowing the real situation? When was the last time I was judged by others? How did I feel? How can I improve my dealings with others?
May we remember to look at ourselves and not judge others.
Father God,
Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another chance to know you and experience your love. Thank you for another week. Lord, I am sorry for the times i judge others, knowingly or unknowingly. Sorry for focusing on the faults and imperfections of others. Sorry for being pressured to talk ill about others, and for judging others instead of helping them. Help me see with your eyes. Help me focus first on myself, on my sins and imperfections. Fill me and make me more like you, so that I would see others the way you see them. And would treat others as you would - helping and not judging them. Amen.
Blessed Week!
In Christ,
-g-
Ps
See related reflection:
June 21, 2021
Monday of Week 12; St. Aloysius Gonzaga
FIRST READING
The LORD said to Abram:
“Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.
AI will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you.”
Abram went as the LORD directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. Abram took his wife, Sarai, his brother’s son Lot, all the possessions that they had accumulated, and the persons they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land as far as the sacred place at Shechem, by the terebinth of Moreh. (The Canaanites were then in the land.)
The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel, pitching his tent with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. He built an altar there to the LORD and invoked the LORD by name. Then Abram journeyed on by stages to the Negeb.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
R. (12) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he has chosen for his own inheritance. From heaven the LORD looks down; he sees all mankind.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, To deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Our soul waits for the LORD, who is our help and our shield. May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us who have put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
ALLELUIA
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”
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