Sunday 9 Jul 2023

July 9: Matthew 11:16-19

Key Verse: Matthew 11:17
“We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.”

Devotion:
I’m pretty sure I got up to some strange things as a child, but none quite so strange as these children! I had to sit and think about these words for a while because my mind was racing off thinking of the strange things I got up to in my school days and how horrified my parents might have been if they had found out all I did… but God was watching me all that time which has brought me to talk about judging others.

No matter where we are in our lives or how much we try not to judge people, we all make judgments based on what we see and hear, most of those judgments are probably kept to ourselves being held in our hearts and minds; but they tend to come out when we are judged ourselves or anything happens which we don’t agree with!

God has the privilege of being able to know us from the inside out – something we think we can do with others but always fail when we do try. Judgment should be left up to Christ alone. We often take sides in arguments simply because we like one side of the argument instead of digging deeper to find out the truth. This is our downfall and something which can easily alienate us from others.

God wants us to be able to get along with other which often means putting aside our personal differences and waiting on God for guidance and encouragement; something most of us don’t like doing: waiting! Jesus did many things which the strict teachers of the law did not like and which some people may have taken offence with. But He did everything with a clear and open heart. If we want to get further in life we need to put aside personal judgment and move toward allowing Christ to guide us through relationships and friendships.

Points to Ponder:
How often do you get upset with others?

Do you ever look at things from their point of view?