"Judge Not"

I am a Christian, and I try very hard to be a good one. I admit that I fail miserably on some days, but I do what I can. I know that no one is perfect and we all sin, and I also know that some people are better christians than others.

There is one thing, however, that I can't understand, and that is why so many Christians worry about not doing things like; stealing, killing, drinking, smoking, and using the Lords name in vain, but that whole "judge not lest ye be judged" thing never enters their minds.

It must be that they don't think about it, or I suppose it could be that they don't think it counts all that much. At any rate, I have met plenty of these judgmental people in my life. I have personally heard some of them declaring other people passengers on the Hell train.

I have been the target of one of these type Christians on more than one occasion, but there is one incidence that sticks out in my mind. I won't reveal the name of the person I'm talking about, but I will say that it was a co-worker.

There were three or four of us standing around one morning talking about religion and beliefs and those sorts of things. I wasn't all that involved in the conversation, to tell you the truth, because I am one of those individuals who believes that discussing religion or politics at work is dangerous.

I became more involved, however, when one of the individuals doing most of the talking decided to look at me and make it personal. I made a simple comment about how I had done my share of wrong in my life, and that I was sure God had some things to discuss with me.

This woman actually looked at me and said "I know I wouldn't want to be behind you in line on judgment day".

When I recovered from my initial shock, I am ashamed to admit that I momentarily "layed my religion down" as one of my other co-workers likes to say.

I looked at her and said "Honey, I don't blame you, because I'm sure when I get there God and I will be awhile, but maybe you'll get lucky and there will be an express lane for people like you...Unless, of course, that whole judging other people thing counts, at which point you're going to be screwed."

Needless to say, when I walked off, she was the one left wearing the shocked expression. Like I said, I really don't understand why some people feel so comfortable judging other people, and I probably never will.

I do know, however, that I felt badly about the way that I responded to her comment that day, because my response made me appear as bad as she did, and, because I was just raised better than that.

Next time, and I'm sure there will be one, I've decided on a new plan. I'm taking the high road and I'm just going to close my eyes and pray for myself some patience. If I can manage it...I think the Lord will be proud.