Friday Family Devo: BE CAREFUL HOW YOU JUDGE OTHERS!

Read the text and briefly discuss it together. Some discussion-starter questions are provided. Then read the closing text as a guide to your family prayer and finish by praying together and singing a hymn.

Be careful how you judge if someone else is right or wrong! In Matthew 7:1–6, Jesus teaches us about how not to, and how to judge rightly. Read the passage together now. We all have to decide what's right or wrong all the time, even if it's hard. If you want to be a good person, you need to know what's good and what's bad so you can make the right choices.

Jesus said, “Don't judge others, or you will be judged too.” But he also said more about what He meant:

1. God will judge you the same way you judge others, so be fair and merciful.

2. Don't speak judgment against someone if you do the same bad things. First, stop doing the bad, yourself, and then, it's okay to tell them they're doing something wrong.

3. Be careful who you try to help. Some people might not want to listen and might even try to hurt you for telling the truth. If you tell someone they’re doing wrong and need to change their ways and they react by trying to hurt you, leave them alone. Stick with people who are willing to hear you out without losing their tempers, even if they don’t immediately agree. 

You need to think carefully about these things. Always only make fair judgments, as Jesus teaches.

So, when Jesus said not to judge, he didn't mean you can't ever decide if something is right or wrong. You must do this to be a good person. But remember, judging in a mean way, without being fair, is not what Jesus wanted. For more, follow my family ministry blog, jesuslovesfamilies.blogspot.com.

Discuss:

• Why do you think it's important to decide if something is right or wrong before doing it?

• Can you think of a time when you helped someone by telling them they were doing something wrong? How did you feel about it? How did they respond?

• What does it mean to you to “judge with right judgment”? How can you tell if your judgment is fair or not?

This week, we learned about the importance of judging rightly and fairly. If we judge wrongly, it will be very difficult to stay unified as one family in Christ. Again, this week, let’s say a special prayer this week for the Lord to restore our Christian unity all over the world, and to help us never to be the cause of division. 

—JLP

Image by falco via Pixabay.


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