Recovery Devotional 300 Too Quick to Judge

JMD Devotional 300 1 Samuel 1:10-18 Too Quick to Judge

And [Hannah] was in distress of soul, praying to the Lord and weeping bitterly. She vowed, saying, O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your handmaid and [earnestly] remember, and not forget Your handmaid but will give me a son, I will give him to the Lord all his life; no razor shall touch his head. And as she continued praying before the Lord, Eli noticed her mouth. Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. Eli said to her, How long will you be intoxicated? Put wine away from you. But Hannah answered, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I was pouring out my soul before the Lord. Regard not your handmaid as a wicked woman; for out of my great complaint and bitter provocation I have been speaking.

Then Eli said, Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him. Hannah said, Let your handmaid find grace in your sight. So [she] went her way and ate, her countenance no longer sad.

If the people of this lost and sin-cursed world are our critics and tormentors; I am sad to say our fellow believers are often more so. We tend to expect unrealistic perfection out of each other. I believe that one of the reasons that Jesus commanded us to not judge others is because we almost always get it wrong! We misinterpret what we see, we project our own shame upon other’s, we slander their motives, we elevate ourselves by crushing them. We do not have the omniscience and omnipresence to judge another. Only God knows what they are thinking, how hard it is for them, or where they have been or the load that they are carrying. If we set aside our powdered white wig and gavel and leave judgment to God, we are free to take on more appropriate roles like encourager and mercy-giver.

Dear God,

I am too quick to judge, and my ‘judgments’ are almost always wrong. Putting myself into such a position, that I am ill-equipped for makes me come across as unloving and critical. It only takes a quick review of my life to remind me that I have no right to put another down. Forgive me, and redirect my zeal into seeking to build up and edify others. Help me to share Your love and grace with others in every situation. May I not covet Your position, power or authority: there is One Judge; steer me to fulfill my role in Your kingdom.

Amen

All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by

the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)

Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

*New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)

I originally produced these blogs between 2006 and 2007, which were then published in my book, JMD Recovery Devotionals. In 2010, I am sending these out to a few people as I review them and see if my point of view has changed.

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