the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
Don't condemn, and you won't be condemned (Luke 6:37).
We live in a world where most people are quick to condemn others for the faults they see. Cynicism and suspicion are the order of the day. Instead of looking for the good in others, we look for evil, and we're usually not disappointed. An old Yiddish proverb says, "Az me vil a hunt a zets geben, gefint men a shteken." (When you want to beat a dog, you're sure to find a stick.) We're good at finding fault. This is particularly true among believers, I'm sad to say.
It takes special grace from the Lord not to judge others quickly. It takes a willingness to listen and really hear before we speak. God gave us two ears and one mouth. There's a lesson in anatomy. Can you imagine what we would be like if it were the other way around? It takes a conscious effort to resist our natural propensity to judge and condemn. If we listen before we speak and hear the other side before we draw conclusions, we will find more understanding and less cause for offense. It is only through the grace of God that we can find it in our hearts to forgive others.
...resist the temptation to judge others. Instead, I will listen before speaking and extend forgiveness as Messiah has forgiven me.
DB
The Voice of the Lord, Copyright © 1998 by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation, Inc. Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers, Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part of this article may be reproduced in print or on the web, or transmitted in any form, without the written permission of the publisher.
