Thursday, July 17, 2008

Don't judge others too quickly

The Gospel lesson for Sunday is the parable of the wheat and the weeds. Jesus says that an enemy has sown weeds into a field of good wheat. He warns the disciples not to root out the weeds, but to let them grow alongside the wheat until the harvest.

How easy it is for us to judge other people! We come to judgment after a quick assessment of the facts and we condemn others in our minds summarily. Then we bask in the glow of our own self-righteousness.

But Jesus says to withhold judgment. Don't root out the weeds but let them grow alongside the wheat. I think Jesus means that we should be slow to judge others, not just publicly, but also in the privacy of our own thoughts. When we're tempted to condemn another person in our minds, Jesus asks us to hold off. Often, time reveals that our initial judgment was superficial and hasty.

The Psalm for Sunday expresses the nature of God:

But you, O LORD, are gracious and full of compassion, *
slow to anger, and full of kindness and truth.

May we also be slow to anger.
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