Judgment can be a ravenous wolf or subtle like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It finds its way into the fold any way it can and even whispers through the veil of many prayers. Variations of the ‘thank God I’m not like other people’ prayer abound. I want to see the truth that when I judge another, I judge myself. It is a two-edged sword and I cannot have one without the other.
When I draw conclusions about you, I pronounce judgment and execute a sentence upon myself to perform in opposition of that which I have judged. It can be as simple as saying, “You are messy”, and in that moment a demand is put upon myself to “be tidy”. The judgment places a rule upon myself and bondage is its fruit. With every judgment comes a sentence and with every sentence comes imprisonment. Inevitably, I find myself living within the confines of trying not to be like you even though I inherently know that, in actuality, I am just like you. Living becomes a performance impossible to sustain. I will fail, and in so doing I will be found guilty of that which I judged.