Come & See: 10 Cowboy Devotions to Strengthen Your Ride With ChristSample

Being Judgy

“Don’t make opinions about what others do, and no opinion will be made about you. The way you treat others is the way you will be treated. The judging eye you cast upon others will be the same judging eye that will be cast on you. Don’t criticize your partner’s horse for slinging its head when you can’t even get on your own horse without gettin’ bucked off. How can you offer to help your friend out with his horse when you can’t even put a saddle on yours? That’s just bein’ a hypocrite! When you get your horse goin’ good and steady, then you can offer to help your partner.” Matthew 7:1—5

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say, “You can’t judge me.” There’s a common misconception that Christians are not to judge, but that’s not really the case. People who are opinionated would likely be deemed judgmental by many. But can we really go through life without having an opinion? I don’t think we can. But I do think we can do something else.

We can have a good opinion of others. And if we’re going to make an assumption, let’s assume something good. This could even mean assuming that maybe someone’s behavior at the moment is a result of a hardship that you know nothing about.

Jesus tell us not to judge harshly or incorrectly. If a friend is having an affair, it is not judging them to tell them that it is a sin. The Bible already declares that to be wrong. God has already judged this type of behavior as sinful.

I think a better way to understand what Jesus is saying is to think about it as nitpicking. No one likes a nitpicker. He’s saying that since He isn’t nitpicking everything you are doing, you have no business nitpicking others.

Grace and mercy flow from God so easily, maybe it’s time we start being willing to give the same thing to others.

Cowboy Call:

Start trying to make good assumptions about others in the hardest circumstances. Make excuses for people. That should be easy. We make enough excuses for ourselves.