A Judgemental Heart

I recently read an article on Boundless Webzine entitled "You Made Me Sin". The article touched me because it talked about an almost universal human weakness: judgementalism. You can find the full text here.

I think a judgemental attitude is hard to overcome because it is rooted in the heart. Jesus said, "Good people bring good things out of the good stored up in their heart, and evil people bring evil things out of the evil stored up in their heart. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." (Luke 6:45)

When I judge someone in my heart, my mouth can't help but speak words of criticism. If I want my words to be full of life and light, I need to work on guarding my heart. I must be careful about the kinds of things I feed myself. Do I listen to gossip about other people? Do I entertain harsh or critical thoughts? Do I base my opinions on the world's point of view, or on God's unchanging truth?

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul exhorts believers with the following words: "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (Philippians 4:8)

Yes, I am a sinner through and through. But I live with the hope that my sins are forgiven because of Jesus. By His grace, my sins are no longer held against me. What right do I have to hold the failings of others against them? C.H. Spurgeon eloquently supports this point with his wise words:

"He who grows in grace remembers that he is but dust, and he therefore does not expect his fellow Christians to be anything more. He overlooks ten thousand of their faults, because he knows his God overlooks twenty thousand in his own case. He does not expect perfection in the creature, and, therefore, he is not disappointed when he does not find it. When our virtues become more mature, we shall not be more tolerant of evil; but we shall be more tolerant of infirmity, more hopeful for the people of God, and certainly less arrogant in our criticisms."