To Judge or Not to Judge

Some years ago, a young boy walked into a drug store and asked to use the telephone. He asked the operator to give him a certain number.

"Hello, Dr. Anderson?" the boy said. "Do you want to hire a boy to shovel snow, cut the grass, and run errands for you?...

"Oh, you already have a boy? Are you completely satisfied with the boy you have?...

"Okay, then, goodbye, doctor."

As the boy thanked the druggist for the use of the phone, the druggist said, "Just a minute, son. If you are looking for work, I could use a boy like you."

"Thank you, sir, but I have a job," the boy replied.

"But didn't I just hear you trying to get a job from Dr. Anderson?"

"No, sir. You see, I'm the boy who is working for Dr. Anderson. I was just checking up on myself."

Courtesy Google.com

When Jesus told us not to judge, He meant we are not to judge others. But He also told us that we would be known by our fruit, saying, "A tree is known by its fruit" (Matthew 12:33b). That means that we are to be fruit inspectors. We need to judge ourselves just as conscientiously as this young boy did.

I've always loved the poem by Robert Burns, "To a Louse," which contains a very important truth.

Courtesy Google.com

In the poem, Burns is sitting in church behind a woman wearing a very large, fancy hat. She is posturing proudly, not knowing that a louse is crawling all over her bonnet. Burns concludes with these words:

O would some Power the gift be given us

To see ourselves as others see us!

It would from many a blunder free us...

(the translation is mine)

How true!

The only way we can check up on our spiritual image is to look into the mirror of God's Word and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal our strengths and weaknesses to us, as this quote points out:

Courtesy Google.com

Did you take some time to examine yourself today?