In Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus says, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.”
Well, crap! For many of us, that’s a hard pill to swallow, especially when we believe we are saying something that is correct. These day-to-day judgments we make of others are not something we are born with, but something we are taught. Jesus is telling us: if you judge people by their appearance, you can expect to be judged by yours. If you judge people on the amount of money they have, the car they drive, where they live, their education, or their job, you can expect that this is how you will be judged, too. Doesn’t feel great, does it? But because we have learned it, we can unlearn it too!
Last month, I picked up a book that I LOVE! We Can Do Hard Things – Answers to Life’s 20 Questions by Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle. The book that I have is a compilation of experiences, learnings, and advice from a variety of women with very different backgrounds. It’s what sparked this post. IN the book, Glennon is talking with Prentis Hemphill, a therapist, writer, and somatic practitioner. They are discussing how we remove the stick from our eyes, and Prentis says,
We all embody a whole lot of things we have learned from our families and the world. We embody all these things we don’t really value or believe in, but they come out of us. And so before we try to heal the world, there’s work to do in our interiors. There’s work to do around realigning who we actually are and how we behave with what we believe. You can’t heal the world without looking inward first.
If we want people to grow and learn, we have to grow and learn too. We have been trained to judge by observing people, watching the media, listening to our family, and taking in what is happening around us. This influences how we behave, think, and engage in the world. If you feel like you are handing out judgments, making assessments, and determining who is worthy and who is not, as if it’s your job, you might want to stop and ask yourself why. We do these things when we aren’t feeling good about ourselves. It should be a red flag. We are not paying attention to our own hurts and our own lives. What does this cost you? What does it do to your soul? And if you follow Christ, how is this following him? The good news is that anything you learn, you can unlearn. You can rewrite the script, change your behavior, and meet people with openness and curiosity.
As always, if you are looking for someone to talk to and learn more about yourself, you can request an appointment through my website www.ledbygracecc.org or by calling me at 470-241-4336.
Until next time, Rev. Brigette
