Ministry Resources

Day 133: Right Judgment

Author: Richard J. Bennett

Today’s Scripture: John 7:21-24

Central Thought: Christians must not allow prejudices to keep them from making right judgments.

Frank Butler was a renowned marksman. Probably, no one in the crowd that day in Cincinnati thought he would lose a shooting contest, especially to a sixteen-year-old, five-feet-tall girl. But he did. This girl would one day be nicknamed ‘Little Sure Shot.” You probably know her as Annie Oakley.

Too often people allow their prejudices to keep them from making right judgments. Jesus was wrongly judged for healing a man on the Sabbath. People were convinced that healing was work and it was wrong to work on the Sabbath. Yet, they allowed for exceptions. Jesus commanded them, ‘Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” (John 7:24).

We can be too quick to make a judgment about an individual or a situation when we really do not know the facts. Rather than assuming the best about people, we tend to assume the worst. Perhaps we do this because it tends to make us feel a bit more righteous if someone else is caught doing something wrong (or what we presume is wrong).

False assumptions and prejudice lead to hurt lives and damaged reputations. Let us learn to exercise good judgment rather than jumping to conclusions.

Devotional Prayer: God, help me overcome my prejudices and tendencies to make wrong judgments. Teach me to learn to see people through Your eyes.

Today’s Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 12:1-13:22; John 7:1-29; Psalm 108:1-13; Proverbs 15:4

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