A Christian's 30 Day Challenge To Deeper Living

Day 12: Judge Less, Listen More

So just today I realized something: I judge other people all the time.  I have always thought of myself as someone who does not judge, but when I take time to listen to my own thoughts, I realize I do judge- a lot.

This is something I just discovered earlier today.  I was on YouTube watching a really cool video (video to the right for anyone interested) and I went to leave a comment after skimming through some other comments.  Right there is where I judged.  I was reading the comments and I thought something along the lines of, “This person doesn’t even sound into it.  How could you not be touched by this video?”

The second after I thought that, I moved on.  I did not even notice what I had just thought.  Then, after a few minutes (I watched the video again) I thought back on what I had thought earlier.  It was then I realized how awful that was of me. 

I do not know a single thing about that person.  I do not know what hardships they have or have not gone through, and I have no idea what their mindset is, but here I am judging them. 

It seems to me that we may think we are really good about not judging, but we could be judging people right and left just because judging can happen so quickly and undetected in our minds.  In all, we need to start monitoring our thoughts more closely.  Just because no one else hears our thoughts (except God, of course!), does not mean we are free to think anything.  Keep in mind, what you dwell on will start to change you.

On the other end of it, instead of judging people, we should listen more.  Instead of looking at someone and just assuming what they have been through, how they think, and what their personality is, we should get to know them!  We can talk to them, but more importantly, listen to them.  And I mean really listen.  I think a lot of us anymore just let someone talk and are honestly caught up in our own thoughts instead of actually listening to them.  Or, even worse, we are on our iPhone playing a game instead of hearing a word they say.  Or if you are someone who talks a lot, (I’ve been guilty of this one before) just waiting for them to finish talking so you can start again.

It all boils down to selfishness, ultimately.  We need to put ourselves aside and show that person- whether it is our best friend, acquaintance, or mother- that we care about them, their lives, and what they are thinking.

This will not only give you better insight to being their friend, but they will feel loved and appreciated when you take the time to listen and ask questions about their lives instead of judging them as if you know them when you do not.

Hope you guys take this into consideration!  This was a good message for me to hear/write.

God bless!

-Aly :)