Your garments are stained
with the blood of the innocent poor,
even though you didn’t catch them
breaking and entering.
Yet, despite all this,[c] 35 you still insist,
“I’m innocent; as a result he will turn his anger away from me.”
Because you claim not to have sinned,
I will pass judgment against you.
Reflection
There is a voice in my head that is really judgmental. I didn’t realize how bad it was until I was a bit older and gained some distance from the small hometown and the family (one person in particular, but another story for another time). I gained some perspective on the struggles other people go through just to survive each day. Life has taught me to step back from judgment and leave that to the experts (it’s God… God is the expert). Not just because that helps me live more like Jesus, providing grace for others, it allows me more grace for myself.
An expression I learned in teaching was, “not my pig, not my farm,” or “not my monkeys, not my circus.” Some people use this to escape responsibility; I used it to remind myself to step back from situations that I didn’t need to take on (because I was always the one to take on just one more thing). I also use it to step back from judgment.
When I see someone else make choices that I disagree with, I try really hard to simply step back. “Not my pig, not my farm.” I don’t know what their logic is, I don’t know what brought them to that decision.
What good would be accomplished if I assumed a few things and passed judgment? It only hurts me.
If there is something I can do to immediately help them, offer grace and support without assuming the worst, that only helps both of us. That’s what I will try to do.
By Ashley Bowler-Polhemus
For Pondering and Prayer
When have you caught yourself judging others? Did you know all the facts of the situation? Was there anything you could have done to help them instead?
How can you move through your life in a way that releases your compulsion to make assumptions about others?
Leave judgment to the experts! (Remember, it’s God… God is the expert)
Prayer: God of mercy and justice, Thank You for being the only true judge. Help me to release my need to control, critique, or condemn. Teach me to walk in grace—for others and for myself. When I’m tempted to assume or accuse, remind me that I don’t know the whole story, but You do. Fill me with compassion instead of criticism, and humility instead of pride. May I choose grace, not judgment, and love, not assumption. Amen.
