Judgement Leaves No Room for Love
OPENING PRAYER:
Lord, help me to move beyond any prejudgments I have about people. Amen
““Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?” Matthew 7:1-3 NLT
REFLECT:
When I was teaching at San Jose Bible College, which was in the inner city, we would often have homeless individuals wander onto the campus. We were judgmental of them and considered them undisciplined drug addicts who weren’t willing to work. We were also concerned for the safety of the students.
Since coming to Wichita and becoming familiar with the work of The Union Rescue ministry, my judgmental attitude of the homeless has changed. I attended a dinner for the ministry as a volunteer from Pathway helping serve, and I got to rub shoulders with some the homeless culinary students who catered the meal. I began to see them as individuals who had fallen on tough times. While they were not always faultless, they were, through the programs at Union Rescue, striving to turn their lives around. My attitude toward the homeless further improved after I read a work of fiction, Equal Justice by Chad Zunker, about a Christian homeless camp in Austin, Texas. I now realize my attitude toward the homeless I met in San Jose, CA was not what I should have had as a Christian.
APPLY:
There are many opportunities to serve in ministries for individuals who are poor and needy. Pathway supports many ministries which need volunteers to serve individuals who are less fortunate than we are. Don’t do as I did and make quick judgments about these people but reach out and help. Jarred Peine and Gwendolyn Lewis at Pathway Church, Westlink Campus, or your campus pastor would be able to provide information on where you can serve the needy.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Lord, guide me to not quickly judge individuals but reach out and help those who are less fortunate than I am. Amen