Judging Others

Read Romans 14:1-12

Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own Lord that they stand or fall.

- Romans 14:4 (NRSV)



 

My husband and I traveled to Israel with a Christian tour group. On the eighth day of our trip, we visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Western Wall is a massive limestone wall where people come to pray. Men, women, and children of all ages and different religious traditions, dressed in all types of garb, were slowly moving to and from the wall.





 As I made my way to the wall to insert my prayer list in one of the crevices between the stones,

I noticed with great dismay a woman talking on a cell phone. Just like home, I thought. Here we are in a holy place, and she’s talking on the phone! Suddenly the woman moved the phone from her ear to the wall, held it there for a few moments, and then left quietly. She had been helping someone who couldn’t be present to be part of praying at the wall with others. I had just witnessed an expression of the faith of two individuals and a loving act. I often recall this event, and I’ve recounted it to others on several occasions. How many times in the course of a week or even a day do we judge before knowing all the facts? And for that matter, what right do we have to judge another at all?

 

 The Author -Diane Haviland (New Jersey, USA) - The Upper Room

Thought for the Day - Love one another -- and leave judgment to God. 

Prayer -

Dear Lord, help us not to judge but rather to listen and to help others. Amen.

Prayer focusFor peace in the Middle East