Good morning!
It is a new week and a new day and I’m so glad you could join me as we continue our journey toward renewing our minds and improving our self-discipline. If you’re just joining me, you can read my article, “Morning and Evening: A New Self Discipline Journey” to learn more about why I am doing this, and how this may benefit you as well.
This week we are going to focus each day on speaking truth in love. Each day this week I will provide affirmations, scriptures, and daily challenges regarding this topic. Next week will be a new one!
With that said, let’s start our morning together!
BREATHING EXERCISE
Before we begin let us take some deep breaths to calm our mind and prepare us for this mornings discipline.
MUSIC FOR A NEW DAY
I personally like to have some soft music in the background, so if that’s something you like as well below you will find a song you can play for the duration of our time together.
PRAYER For Not Being Judgmental
Now that we’re calm, let us transition to a time of prayer. Over the next few minutes you can pray on your own or feel free to use the following prayer:
Father,
Help us to be mindful that it is not our place to judge others. We are no better than they are, and You will bring down and lift up as You see fit. Help us to trust in Your almighty plan and the power of Your love to capture hearts and transform people. Thank You for capturing our hearts.
Now, Holy Spirit, transform us into people who love unconditionally just as You do. Help us to see people the way You see them, and to be filled with compassion, even as someone is doing wrong to us. Help us to respond with love instead of anger and bitterness. God, you make the impossible possible.
Thank You for filling us with Your love and freeing us from the compulsion to judge others.
We love You, Jesus.
Amen
You Are the Judge, God | GivenLife
AFFIRMATIONS for XXXXXXX
Here are a few affirmations for this morning that you can put in your pocket and carry with you throughout your day.
As you read through them, repeat each one out loud at least three times before moving to the next. Take your time. Close your eyes and say them to yourself as well. Let these words sink into your heart and mind this morning:
- I will not judge others.
- I will not view others as less than myself.
- I will be a help, not an obstacle, to others.
- I will live at peace with everyone as much as I can.
SCRIPTURES For Not Judging Others
As Christians, our affirmations should be rooted in the strength and power of God who empowers us and strengthens us to face every trial and every day (both good and bad).
Here are some scriptures that further support the affirmations we just spoke to ourselves. Again, repeat each one three times out loud before moving to the next one. Take your time. Maybe try to commit these to memory as well:
- Matthew 7:1-2, “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.”
- John 8:7, “When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.'”
- Romans 14:13, “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.”
- Romans 12:18, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
TODAYS CHALLENGE
Our challenge today is this: walk a mile in someone elses shoes.
My wife and I were talking about the realities of facts versus experience, and how one’s experience doesn’t change the facts but it does give insight into why someone behaves the way they do.
For example, the response to COVID by various individuals varied wildly depending on many factors, including (but not limited to): losing or not losing someone to COVID, political views, upbringing, and more. It cannot be denied that there are indisputable facts about COVID, however, what one did with those facts was determined largely by the factors (and others) listed above.
Using the above example, someone could take the fact that a certain percentage of people have died due to COVID differently. If they lost someone close (say a friend, spouse, parent, sibling, etc.) they are probably more likely to hold to a certain level of fear of COVID, whereas if someone was not close at all to anyone who died from it they may exhibit less fear of COVID.
The concept my wife kept coming back to was that it is easy to judge someone’s response to something or behavior without walking a mile in their shoes first.
What does that mean? It means that individual experiences impact behavior no matter the facts presented, and in order to better understand a person’s behavior it is important to walk a mile in their shoes; that is to get a better understanding of their experience.
As Christians, we know that there is truth all through scripture about various things. However, just because we know it to be true doesn’t mean that someone else is going to simply accept it as truth. We can get angry with them and openly accuse them of being “deceived” or “depraved”, but it may just be that their experiences are blinding them to the truth and if we took a moment to walk in their shoes we might have a better understanding of them and thus find a better way to communicate the truth to them.
But, if we can’t find a better way to communicate the truth that’s OK, it’s not really our job as Christians to convince people. It is our job to simply love God and love others, living and worshipping in Spirit and Truth, and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.
So today, when you find yourself being quick to judge someone else’s behavior in light of a presented truth, take a step back and walk a mile in their shoes. You might just learn a thing or two about them and ultimately find a better pathway to reach them.
Quote of the Day
Today’s quote comes from author Toni Sorenson, who once said:
Walking a mile in someone else’s shoes isn’t as much about the walk or the shoes; it’s to be able to think like they think, feel what they feel, and understand why they are who and where they are. Every step is about empathy.
Toni Sorenson
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