Matthew 7:1-6
Judging Others Makes it Harder to Forgive Them
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
If we want to be more forgiving, we need to follow Jesus' teachings and start by looking at the different things we judge...When we think about it we are always judging...And this is not necessarily good...We like this, we do not like this...We like this kind of car or truck, but we do not like this car or truck...We like this color, but we don not like that color...So when we think about it we do judge a lot...And in this judging and this belief that our judgment is better than the one we are judging can push us further away from our neighbors...Judging makes it harder to forgive the ones we judge...
We need to remember that we are all human, and that we all sin and fall short of the Glory of God...We to make mistakes and have transgressions...We also need to remember that forgiveness is not about condoning someone's behavior, but about letting go of our own anger and resentment...So let us know that when we forgive others that our Father will also forgive us...
Scripture has many verses on forgiveness, and teaches us about forgiveness...“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”...“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone...Forgive as the LORD forgave you.”...“You, LORD, are forgiving and good, abounding in LOVE to all who call to you.”...“Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.”...“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”...“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”...“Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.”...“Hatred stirs old quarrels, but love overlooks insults.”..."As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."..."The LORD our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against Him."...“I, even I, AM He who blots out your transgressions, for My Own sake, and remembers your sins no more."...“Then He adds: Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”...“If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O LORD, who could stand?...But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.”...“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His Grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence.”...“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the Kingdom of the Son of His LOVE, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”...
Jesus said these things about forgiveness: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged...Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned...Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”..."Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'LORD, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?...Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.' "...“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”...“But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”...“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”...
Scripture and Jesus tell us the importance of be able to forgive...There is a strong connection between judging others and a lack of having a forgiveness attitude...When we judge others, we are essentially saying that they are wrong and that we are right...This attitude is one of superiority makes it difficult to forgive others, because we believe that they deserve to be punished for their wrongdoings...Knowing that we also sin should help us in forgiving others...But it seems we want others to sin and have the same sins that we have...
Forgiveness, on the other hand, is about letting go of anger and resentment...It is about accepting that people make mistakes (just like us), and that we all have the capacity to do wrong...When we forgive someone for a sin that they did, we are not saying that what they did was okay, but we are saying that we are no longer going to hold it against them...Just like Jesus does for us, and everyone...
So let us follow Jesus' teachings and start looking at the different things we judge...We need to remember that we are all human, and that we all sin and fall short of the Glory of God...We to make mistakes and have transgressions...So let us know from Jesus' Teachings that when we forgive others that our Father will also forgive us...