11 Brothers and sisters, don’t say evil things about each other. Whoever insults or criticizes a brother or sister insults and criticizes the Law. If you find fault with the Law, you are not a doer of the Law but a judge over it. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, and he is able to save and to destroy. But you who judge your neighbor, who are you?
Reflection
It’s always tempting to criticize others. We know better. We can do it better. Isn’t it obvious we’re right? I don’t understand how they can’t see this.
Have you ever been on the Turnpike, GSP, or I-295 and found yourself at the receiving end of an angry honk, or rude gesture? That’s a dumb question; of course you have, this is New Jersey! I know it’s very easy to get angry and respond in kind. And yes, sometimes the reason why the other person is upset totally eludes me. But 95% of the time, when I think about it and put myself in their (driver’s) seat, I can usually see how I’ve contributed to the situation. I changed lanes without signaling, hung out a little too long in the left lane, or maybe didn’t anticipate needing to get off at the next exit. It’s impossible to drive perfectly. We all make mistakes, we all zone out and lose focus, we all occasionally fail to check our blind spots.
Blind spots are actually a good analogy. We’ve all got them: places where we don’t see quite clearly or perspectives we’ve failed to take into account. James is reinforcing a message that Jesus shared in Matthew 7:1-5: “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged.”
Now, to be fair, I’m not 100% sure it’s possible not to judge, at least sometimes. Judgment helps to keep us safe. But there is a vast difference between the discernment that keeps us safe and the condemnation that renders it impossible for us to talk to or interact with someone else. When we’ve set ourselves in that position, James wants to know, haven’t we made ourselves out to be judges? And who are we to do that?
by Joe Monahan
For Pondering and Prayer
It’s hard to love someone that you’ve already made up your mind about. When our judgments about another crystallize and calcify into stone, that’s when we’ve entered the territory James & Jesus warned us about. Is there someone in your life you’ve been thinking about as you read this devotional today? If so, ask God to open your heart toward them, to see them in a new light.
Prayer: God, open our hearts today to those we’ve made up our minds about. Help us to see them as you see them. And help us to see them as you see us – as imperfect people trying to make sense of a very confusing world. Love us as we are, love them as they are, and help us all to love each other as we are. Amen.
