It’s been awhile since I’ve done a “Helping Hands” post, so I thought it would be a good time to do one. This entire week has been devoted to judging. Often times we find ourselves judging without even meaning to. As I wrote about yesterday, I think it’s ok to judge an action but not ok to judge the person.
So how do you separate the two? That can be a very difficult thing. For example, if I see a drug addict, I immediately label them a druggy. Or if I see an alcoholic, I immediately label them a drunk. I relate the actions they are taking to the person they are and judge them. My goal lately has been to separate the two. The person that I used to judge has issues just like I do. What if I took a step outside of myself and thought about what people think of me based specifically on my actions. That can be a tough realization. If everybody is judging you just as you judge them, and you take a minute to think about how others might see you, you can learn an awful lot about yourself.
If you see somebody doing something that they should not be doing, try not to place a label on them. Try to eliminate any judgement of that person and focus on the action that they took. If you get the opportunity, offer to pray for the decision they just made. Once again, try not to judge the person but just address the situation in your prayer. Prayers can be an extremely powerful thing and you will be surprised at how far a prayer can go. The person may have never prayed before or never even been prayed for.
My prayer today is that you will have the courage to offer to pray for that one person that comes to mind when reading this. See if it changes their life, see if it changes your life.