The Judge is Standing at the Doors

James 5:9 “Do not grumble, brethren, against one another, that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the doors.”

Perhaps one of the most challenging things to root out of my own garden of thoughts is being judgmental of other people. After talking with other followers of Christ, I hear that they too struggle with this and have described it as the most difficult sin to overcome. The sin of being judgmental flashes in your mind within in an instant and sprouts roots so quickly that you will in turn open your mouth and invite others to share in your sin.

In our garden of thoughts, we must take hold of these negative thoughts and immediately throw them out of our mind. It does not benefit us or spiritually develop us to be judgmental. Should we judge and grumble against our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? If we do, we must also consider that the Judge we will all face could very well judge us just as harshly. I shudder to think of what He will say to me for all of my ill thoughts and words.

Would we not rather have His mercy? Then I beg you to prevent these unkind thoughts from taking root. Being critical of people, judgmental, and prideful will spread like a virus through your own life and the body of Christ until it has infected everyone in the church that it can. The only cure to such a virus is prayer, repentance, and uprooting these thoughts before they become words or actions.

If you find that a critical thought against a follower or non-believer enters your mind, try to think of something positive about them instead. If the negative thoughts about them do not take their leave, pray to the Lord “have mercy on me a sinner” that the Lord may know you are struggling and aware of your own sin.