Daily Devotional
Are You Judging in Ignorance?

June 8, 2022

Ponder This

Some years ago, a woman was waiting for an airplane. She went to an airport shop and bought a bag full of cookies and sat down in the terminal. Soon a man came and sat down beside her. The cookies were in between the two of them, unopened. The man reached over, opened the cookies, took one out, and began to eat it. She thought, “What unmitigated gall and nerve that he would do that!” In response, she reached in, got one, ate it herself, and gave him a dirty look. He just smiled then reached in and got another. They traded back and forth until there was one cookie left in the bottom and with a smile; he broke it in half, took one half, and left her the other half. She thought as she got on the airplane, “I’ve never seen a person as arrogant as that man was.” But when she opened her purse, there was her bag of cookies unopened.

Sometimes we judge other people because of our sheer ignorance. Romans 14:4 says, “Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.” Another reason we unmercifully judge other people and fail to tolerate them is that we’re insensitive. We don’t love as we ought. But Jesus did not come to condemn. He came to save. As John 3:17 says, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

• When was a time you assumed the worst about another person but found out you were wrong?
• What are some ways you can remind yourself that God is the only right judge of people?

Practice This

If appropriate, reach out to a person you’ve misjudged and apologize. If this is not appropriate or possible, journal about this circumstance.