Judge Not

This is a talk I did a while back and I had an impression to put it up.

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. (John 7:24)
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is you reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.(Matthew 5:11-12)

Why do we judge others?

Ok some reasons I think are

• It is easier to criticize than to be constructive

"The church is not a place where perfect people gather to say perfect things, or have perfect thought, or have perfect feelings. The church is a place where imperfect people gather to provide encouragement, support, and service to each other as we press on in our journey to return to our Heavenly Father."-Joseph B. Wirthlin

PEOPLE ARE NOT PERFECT! they are sometimes annoying, disappointing, inconsiderate, and selfish, and they DO make mistakes. Thus, it is easy for us to find faults, because there are plenty of them around. We don't have to look far.

• To magnify our own virtues.

"The only person you should try to be better than, is the person you were yesterday."-Unknown

Because it is easier to criticize than to be constructive, we may decide not to improve ourselves but instead attempt to make others look smaller by tearing them down.

Improve our self's and DON'T BE A BULLY!

Secure, successful people do not feel the need to undermine others in order to establish their own worth.

• To justify our own faults.

"Because we ourselves are sinners, we are not justified in condemning others for sinning."-Unknown

By pointing out how many other people have faults and that some of their faults are worse than, ours, we make our faults seem smaller by comparison.

Dr. Suess has a saying and it is, "a person is a person no matter how small" well I have a thought that goes with it in a sense. 

"A sin is a sin not matter how small." We need to use the Atonement that Christ has given us and we NEED to fix our mistakes. And not worry about others and their mistakes.

• Revenge or jealousy.

Because we have been wronged by someone, we may want to get even with them by hurting them. Or we may want to tear down a person who outshines us.

"When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself."-Wayne Dyer

Charity! We need to have Charity! Charity is the pure LOVE of CHRIST! It includes God's eternal love for ALL His children. We are to seek to develop that kind of love.

"We do not judge the people we love."-Jean-Paul Sattre

We were commanded to Love thy neighbor not some of the time ALL the time.

• To shift the blame

When we make mistakes, we avoid the responsibility for them by criticizing the performance of those who are working with us. Or we may try to shift the responsibility by finding fault with the performance of others.

That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment. (D&C 101:78)

Heavenly Father always knows! No matter what!

Instead lets

• Look for the good!

"If we will always look for the best in others, in our friends, in our neighbors, in our wife, in our husband, in our children, they will turn out to be the most wonderful people in the world. On the other hand, if we are looking for their weaknesses and faults and enlarge upon them, these same people may become even despicable."-President Tanner

Red is for courage to do what is right!

"My earnest prayer is that you will have the courage required to refrain from judging others, the courage to stand firm for truth and righteousness."-Thomas S. Monson

Judge Not By Kenneth L. Higbee