Is it possible to tell when someone is being judgmental even when they don’t say a word? I think it is. As a matter of fact even when I end up seeing a person as a creation of God a lot of times my first impression is one of judgment. Not judgment as in condemning them to hell or anything like that, just that maybe I don’t want to interact with that person based on their appearance or the way they’re behaving. The Lord is helping me to stop and think on the following things regarding the person in question: 1] Realize that person was once someone’s child. 2] Wonder what type of upbringing they had; did they grow up in a hurtful or loving home environment? 3] Have they made some bad choices that have brought them to their current circumstances? These are all elements that can have an adverse effect on a person’s ego and their mental & emotional makeup as in how they process situations they may be confronted with. Maybe they know the Lord and are just fine. They are just having a hard time financially. Maybe they’re doing exceptionally well and feel no need to mingle with those ‘beneath’ them.
There have been times in my walk with the Lord (a total of 41 years) when I have purposely gone up to a person that looked like they needed a blessing and many times just saying HI, shaking their hand, asking them their name and if nothing else, offer a brief prayer of blessing for the person can change their entire disposition. Sometimes I sit down next to someone or maybe they sit down next to me and I engage them in conversation. If the Lord ends up coming up then all well and good, but if he doesn’t, when you’re done chatting, offer to pray for them anyway. There aren’t a whole lot of folks who will turn down prayer. Many people have responded to me “thank you, I need all the prayers I can get.” Now chances are many of these folks may not be believers or at least believers we are accustom to, but God created that person and he wants a relationship with them. Perhaps our being kind to them or briefly praying that God bless their life might be a seed planted or perhaps the watering of a seed planted by someone else.
This world is a harsh, cold place where self-absorption is rampant (even by some Christians) and arbitrary violent acts seem out of control. We are Christ’s Ambassadors … we need to stand out in the darkness for the right reasons. We must trust God and obey his standards found in scripture. It’s not binding. It’s not restrictive. Believe it or not it is liberating. Living as God designed us to live is not without difficulties, but with his abundance of grace and mercy, along with his patience we can be led down his narrow path to heaven. We have such a wonderful gift; we need to share it. Ask the Lord to lead you to people he knows are be ready to begin the journey of a lifetime. Funny how when we go to be a blessing we end up blessed as well. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! rlkeller
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