turns out “planking” is bad for you

Most of us have heard the saying, “you can’t judge a book by its cover” and most of us have judged a book by its cover. And let’s just be honest, we have judged people by their cover as well. Heck, sometimes I even judge myself!

To judge someone means to form an opinion or make a decision about them, often based on limited information or personal biases.

It’s easy to judge someone by the way the dress, the way they look, and the way they act.

We tend to use someone’s outward appearance to make assumptions about what they are really like on the inside.

So, how do we practically not judge others? It’s a hard challenge to accept but I believe it can be done.

In Matthew 7:1-5, the Bible warns us about judging others while ignoring our own flaws.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way, you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the spec of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the blank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see cleary to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

We are to have discernment and ask God to help us see the heart of others.

John 7:24 tells us, “ stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

So, today, ask God to help you to first see what planks or even specks might be in your own life. And then as you encounter others, ask God to help you not to judge but to see them through His eyes! We are all created in His image and that is something to celebrate in one another!