Monday; September 14
The other day I drove past a man holding a sign asking for assistance. I honestly can’t tell you what the sign said, but I do know what I thought, “I wonder why he is out begging for money?”. In that very brief interaction, I conjured up same quick thoughts about what might have brought that man to the point he was soliciting money on the side of the road. Then, it struck me. I wonder what people were thinking of me as I drove by him? Did they wonder why I didn’t stop to help? Were they assessing my character for why I wasn’t assisting a man who claimed he couldn’t make it on his own? In a single snapshot, the whole issue of judgement came full circle – I did it and I feared that others were doing it to me. As I look back on that moment, I am drawn to Jesus’ simple, but straightforward comment, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2). Whether I am