Day 1944 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

James 4:12 NIV

Had us a little fracas earlier today. Apparently just something about bringing home groceries that doesn't go smoothly for some reason. Don't understand it. But anyway, it helped me realize something that I think would make a good post to share. It's awful easy to assume the worst in others. We're often so quick to judge that we don't leave any room to remain calm and think things through.

Instead, we usually just freak out and lose control for a second. Why do we always, or at least almost always, see the worst in others? Why do we automatically assume the worst? Why do we rush to judgement before even getting close to understanding what's going on? Why do we instantly think that someone else means to hurt us or make us angry before we even stop to consider where they're coming from?

Are we just really into fighting all the time? Do we really enjoy the arguments that this kind of thing leads to? Do we just crave a little bit of chaos to help shake up the day? Whatever the case may be, it's really only setting us up for all kinds of problems that nobody needs. We've all got plenty going on most days, so why go looking for more trouble all the time?

Here's a wacky idea: what if the other person didn't mean anything at all by what they said or did? What if they're just different or have a unique way of conveying what's on their minds? What if they're actually just trying to be nice, but you happen to be in a bad mood, so you assume that they're just poking at you? Kind of ends up making people look bad doesn't it? And more times than not, it leads to stressed relationships and more issues to resolve.

As this verse teaches us, there's only one judge here. There's only one person that has the right to judge others. And that's God. Not us. We don't have any right to judge anyone. Kind of makes you wonder why we're so quick to judgement. Reckon it's just yet another exciting problem that we've decided to take upon ourselves to get wrong. We need to stop rushing to judge others. Need to stop judging them period.

Again, we don't know their reasons for what they say or do. We don't instantly know whether they're trying to make us mad or just saying something differently than we'd say it. Maybe we should just take a bit of extra time and not run right into fighting them. We need to get back to letting God be God and just staying a little more humble. I know that this is probably a rare thought these days, but not everyone is looking to fight or argue. Weird isn't it?

Assuming the worst, jumping to conclusions, and standing in judgement is only going to lead to problems. Why bring all that negativity on yourself when you could probably avoid it by simply remaining calm and gathering all the information possible? Here's another crazy idea, what if we just gave others a little room to be human? We all say things we don't really mean or do things that we didn't think through. So why not extend a little grace even if the other party is being a jerk?

I guess it all boils down to how much anger and frustration we want in our lives. Personally, I enjoy peace. I rarely go looking for a fight, and do my absolute best to try and see the best in others. I'll never understand why people do some of the things they do, or how they choose to do them. Is that really any of my business anyway? Again, why not just try to seek peace and calm instead of fighting all the time? It'll never be on us to figure out everything and everyone. But it will always be on us to be good to others. And this judgement thing, well it makes that being kind part a bit harder.