an area every one of us has to deal with..

look at this poem, “the wrecking crew”

i stood on the street of a busy town

watching men tearing a building down

with ho heave ho and a lusty yell

they swung a beam and a side wall fell

i asked the foreman of the crew

“are those men as skilled

as those you’d hire if you’d wanted to build?”

“ah, no, no indeed,

just common laborers are all i need

i can tear down as much in a day or two

as would take skilled men a year to do.”

and then i thought as i went my way

just which of these two roles am i trying to play?

have i walked life’s road with care,

measuring each deed with rule and square?

or am i one of those who roam the town

content with the labor of tearing down?

this is an area every one of us has to deal with – a critical attitude, being judgmental.  if you want to find some fault in somebody, you can.  everybody is imperfect.  it’s all in what you decide to look at.  if you choose to make friends in life one of the things you have to do is overlook their faults.  love the good parts in them and overlook the bad parts.  if you want to have a successful marriage, you have to learn to stop criticizing and questioning your mate's motives.  look at the good parts in their life.

listen, this matter of judging is one of the most common problems.  james says it’s really playing GOD.  only GOD has the right to judge, evaluate and criticize someone.  HE’s got all the facts.  HE’s impartial.  we’re not.  it’s not our place.  it will be a liberating experience when you realize that GOD has not called you to judge other people but HE’s called you to be accountable to HIM.

would you pray a prayer like this in your heart, “LORD, help me to quit playing GOD.  help me this week to not be critical and judgmental, to watch my mouth and not gossip and pass on damaging information, but to build up others and to share only those things that encourage and lift up.  LORD, thank YOU for YOUr grace in my life.  thank YOU that YOU don’t give me what i deserve but YOU give me what i need.  help me to do that with others, to pass on to them what they need.  i pray this in JESUS’ name.  amen”