when judgment stops

I think that most of us by nature tend to gravitate towards right vs wrong, good vs bad, right vs left.  This ongoing need to divide people into two groups creates a good deal of worry and angst in our lives.  Folks that get fixated in the world of judgments end up living a life that is constantly consumed by conflict.

So what if someone voted for the other candidate.  Does that make them bad?  Does that make them an enemy?  So what if someone has a different opinion from you on capital punishment?  So what if they root for the other sports team?  We have come to define ourselves by being on a certain team instead of being on the human team.

Jesus loved everyone.  He welcomed everyone.  He embraced Jayhawks, and Gators and Tigers and Seminoles.  Labels meant nothing to him.  It did not bother him that Matthew was a tax collector or Simon a Zealot.  Peter wasn't seen as an uneducated fisherman, he was seen as a person created by God, because Jesus saw him for what he was.

Someone will say to me, "but Jeff, they are wrong!"  Maybe so, but that is not mine to judge.  Judge not lest ye be judged.  Yes they may or may not be going to heaven, but who made me in charge of that?  Are you in charge of that?   When we set ourselves up as the judge, all of life becomes a tension filled courtroom.

On the other hand, when we begin to release ourselves from the need to judge others- love, peace and joy rise to the top.  It is like they were there all the time, we just had to get ourselves out of the way.

Try it.  Make a concerted effort to release others from the labels of the past and just see them as someone that God made.  What the world needs now is love- still.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.