Who Are Me To Judge?

So I was thinking about how judgy we all tend to be at times. Yes. ALL of us. And it seems to come so easy. Why is that? Why does it seem to be second nature for us humans to be such Judge Judys? And most times when we've put on our People's Court robe, we don't have any true knowledge of what it is that we've deemed ourselves qualified to judge in the first place. Please. Don't even think about reading this and saying to yourself, "Well, she's not talking about me. I'm not a judgmental person." Ma'am or sir, yes, it is you that I speak of. We all do it and it is my belief that many of our relationships and interactions with people would improve exponentially if we took more time to think, communicate, and empathize rather than judge and condemn. Here are 3 reasons we should all be more conscious of our judge-o-meter.

1. You often find yourself eating your words. How many times have you heard about a situation and said, "I would never..."? How often have you been in conversation with a friend or family member and said, "You're crazy for that, if I were you.."? Think about the times that you've said, "How could they do that?! That's so dumb/unhealthy/wrong/." Now think about the times you have found yourself in some of the same predicaments, leaning toward the same decisions that you so confidently declared wouldn't be you. You know why this happens? Because sometimes you don't know WHAT you'd do in certain instances until it happens to you. There are multiple layers to many things in life that will at times find you in the midst of a decision that may go against your usual personal convictions, religious beliefs, common sense, or moral compass. When real life happens and other factors come into play like emotions, other people, desperation, necessity, grief, etc., the solution that once seemed black and white becomes a murky shade of gray. Never say never.
2. There is more than meets the eye. Passing judgment is easy when you're on the outside looking in. It's better to just be quiet if you don't know all the ins and outs of a situation. When I was growing up I remember hearing people say, "talk what you know". I would suggest that if you see something that causes concern regarding a loved one, you: a. Pray (if that's your belief) and b. lovingly communicate with that person...if you must.
3. You are not perfect and you don't know everything! Nobody is perfect! You may have your finances together and may be a frugal shopper, but you have no self-control when it comes to food. You may have a perfect bill of health physically, but no healthy relationships. You may have 4 degrees from the creme de la creme of institutions of higher learning, but can't hold down a job. Don't point a finger in judgment when you still have those others pointing back at you. Then, sometimes we forget that we once had to overcome that which we now judge! The other part of this is that we shouldn't even feel comfortable voicing an opinion regarding a subject that we really know nothing about or don't understand.

Judge less, learn more. Judge less, pray more. Judge less, love more!