The word ‘perfect’ is defined by the dictionary to mean ‘having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be’. It also means ‘absolute’ or ‘complete’. By these definitions alone, it’s fairly easy to see that very few of us can describe ourselves as perfect. Part of the reason why human relationships are so important is because nobody is so self-sufficient in reality that they don’t need anybody else. Yet, how many times do we spend our energies judging other people? It’s amazing that if you were to dig deeper into the lives of the most judgmental people, you might find things that are quite possibly worse and more horrifying in them than in those whom they judge. To judge another person is a choice that one makes, as we see in the short video below:
It’s been said that judging is a form of projection, a psychological theory in which “humans defend themselves against unpleasant impulses by their existence in themselves, while attributing them to others”. Because we hate, in ourselves, the bad things we do, say or think, we feel more comfortable to identify those things in others and judge. This isn’t healthy because it prevents us from really looking into ourselves and making the change we need to make.
In as much as I am not perfect, you aren’t perfect either. The only way we can really help matters is first to do some very honest introspection to make sure that we are in a good place ourselves. What’s the good of trying to fix everyone else’s house when one’s own dwelling is in a place of disrepair? Only when we are in a healthy place can we be of real benefit to others whenever we correct them or point out their wrongs. After all, we’re not saying here that helping, correcting others and even calling them to order is bad. We become our best when others share their experiences with us and speak firmly to us when we seem to be losing our way.
If you often find yourself being highly critical of others, being judgmental and mean, you need to pause and ask yourself some very probing questions. You need to investigate your motives because you may find that it’s yourself that you have a problem with. The Bible has this caution to give about this kind of behavior: “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
God is willing and ready to help us to look at ourselves and change ourselves before we make moves to try and work on everybody else. If you’d like to know more, click on the banner below.