It hit me recently—and it hit hard. I’ve spent way too much time talking about people I don’t really know or know about their own walk with God. I’ve formed opinions based on fragments and fragments of my imagination.
I have actually thought and said that what I’m doing is discernment. Nope! It’s me in a full bloom of self righteousness.
I’ve passed judgment without context, without compassion, and without the fear of God. What I mistook for standing in truth was just me standing in pride. And that realization brings me to a time of confession and repentance.
To tell the truth, I read a sentence, one sentence, that has really struck me. And in that sentence, were these words: “They do so because they have precious little fear of God.”
I’m grateful this has come to my attention. I’m way more than grateful!
I can’t stop sinning before I know I’m sinning. Thank you Holy Spirit for opening my eyes.
First of all, I am in such a position that I must by all means live my life in the fear of God.
And I can not dare continuing on with something that I know full well offends God, and, the people I speak this evil to.
Quick to Judge, Slow to Understand
Let’s be honest: it’s easy to form opinions. I listen, I watch, I hear, and before long, I’ve got someone all figured out. I see the outward and assume I understand the inward. But God doesn’t work like that—and He doesn’t call on me to-either.
“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” —John 7:24
I have no idea what someone’s walking through, been through, or where they fit into God’s plan. I don’t really know anything, or what I’m even talking about when I’m slandering someone. Slandering another person, for the sole purpose of #1 hearing my self rattle and #2 to build my self up.
And that’s self righteousness.
And I certainly don’t know the conversation God is having with their heart. But that didn’t stop me from pretending I did.
When Discernment Is Just Disguised Pride
Self-righteousness has a way of sounding holy. It dresses up in religious language. It throws around Bible verses like spiritual grenades. But when I peel it back, it’s often just arrogance in a church coat.
“For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” —Matthew 7:2
I’ve looked back on things I’ve said or thought and realized—it wasn’t love guiding me. It wasn’t the fear of God. It was me trying to play a role that only belongs to Him.
What the Lord Really Requires
God doesn’t call me to figure people out. He doesn’t ask me to size them up or clean them up. He calls me to walk humbly, to love mercy, and to do justly. Anything more than that is above my pay grade.
“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” —Micah 6:8
That verse stopped me in my tracks. I’d been doing the opposite. Talking much, loving little, and walking high. But there’s no glory for God in that—only glory for me. And that’s not what I want anymore.
Repenting From the Heart
This isn’t about guilt—it’s about truth. And truth, when it’s received with humility, sets me free. I’m not just saying sorry.
I’m asking God to forgive me. I’m asking God to change me from the inside out.
To give me a heart that listens more than it speaks.
To humble me until the fear of the Lord outweighs my desire to be right.
Final Thought
I don’t want to be the kind of Christian who’s known for pointing fingers. I want to be known for grace. For mercy. For humility. For reflecting the Jesus who loved the woman caught in adultery and challenged the self-righteous crowd with just a few words: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone.” (John 8:7)
So here I am. Dropping my stones. Asking for a heart more like His.