My mom recently read a book on the subject of judging others called How to Stop the Pain. One way the book  defined judgment is as assuming you know the motives behind why people do what they do.

He didn’t just tease me. He teased me because he’s always disliked me.

She didn’t just wear that skirt. She wore it because she’s a slut who wants attention.

They didn’t just buy that. They bought it because they’re starving for approval.

The trouble is, we don’t really know anyone’s motives, and when we assume we do, we construct a wall between us and others.

And we bind ourselves up.

Have you noticed this in your own life? Do you see how quickly we jump from, ‘She never responds to my text messages’ to ‘She thinks she’s better than me’?

Matthew 7:1 says don’t judge and you won’t be judged.

By allowing ourselves to be judges with evil thoughts, we put ourselves under the bondage of judgment.

God can set you free from this, and it’s about as simple as can be: Ask Him to give you eyes to see others as He sees them. Your boss. Your friends. Your enemies. Your acquaintances. You’ll find yourself free from evil thoughts and available to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading to minister to the people around you.

One more thing: Perhaps one reason we find it so easy to judge our friends, family and enemies is because we’ve conditioned ourselves to give an opinion on everything. Think reality TV singing competitions. We sit in the privacy of our own homes and share every thought that pops into our heads about her hair, that dress, those wrong notes, etc. (And this isn’t limited to singing shows.)

We need to practice looking at all people the way God looks at them.

— Tiffany