Confession

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I have something to confess.



As I was sitting in church yesterday morning, I looked around to see who was there. My eyes stopped on someone who I then proceeded to judge. It wasn’t the first time. I immediately caught myself and asked God to forgive me. I asked Him to help me love and see them the way He does, and without judgment. I don’t know their heart. I don’t know their past. I don’t know their struggles. I can’t assume they think or believe the way their spouse does. It doesn’t matter. It’s not my business, and if I really, truly cared, I would ask to spend time with them. Learn more about them. Develop a relationship with them. 


But I’ve wasted thought time and energy, judging them.


Why does what they think or believe bother me so much? What does their walk with God have to do with me? Nothing. Why am I wasting energy on what I think their thoughts might be? I’ve been on the receiving end of some undesirable comments from them, but still, I don’t have the whole story. There is always more, regardless of what we think we know. Maybe I got part of a story from someone else who knows them-- but that’s still only someone else’s perception of who they are.


I have been judged by people who don’t truly know me. Maybe they heard or saw something I said and began judgment based on their filtered view of my words or actions. Maybe even someone who knows me gave them part of a story based on their filtered view. That’s not fair and it’s not okay. So, why would I do it to someone else?


The church has become one of the more difficult places for me to agape love during these times of unrest. If I’m honest, I have very often expected perfection from Christians, especially in the last year. That’s not okay. I’m not perfect. Why would I expect anyone else to be?


As I thought about all of these things, my friend Ryan addressed a lot of them in his sermon. 


Okay, God, I hear you.


Exodus 14:14 says, “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”


He gave us one thing to focus on. 


Love.


My guess is I’m not alone here. So, now we’ve got to figure out how to truly love to the best of our ability. Will it be hard? Absolutely


But we can do hard things. (Philippians 4:13)

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