“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye” (Matthew 7:1-5).

I was encouraged and challenged by Pray As You Go devotion for Monday, June 20. Following the celebration of Juneteenth, I found the music and the words of the devotion particularly poignant. Below, please find the opening words of Monday’s Pray As You Go.

Today’s Gospel [Matthew 7:1-5] reminds us that we are not supposed to judge others lightly. Yet we often let our prejudices overtake our good sense. Perhaps there is someone you have judged unkindly in the recent past. You might want to bring that person to your mind and ask for God’s forgiveness.

God sees the good within every human being, no matter who they are or what they have done. There is always at least one good quality that outshines everything else. Can you think of that one good quality in the person you have judged unkindly?

Matthew compares faulty human judgment with obscured vision. Jesus restores sight to many characters in the Gospels. So, as you listen again, imagine Jesus restoring your vision. What would it be like if you could look upon every single person with eyes unobscured by prejudice?

As we come to the end of this time of prayer, you might like to share what you have seen with the Lord. Talk with God about what the world would look like if you gazed upon the people around you with eyes that are clear enough to see other people as they really are: beloved children of God.

To hear Monday’s, Pray As You Go devotion in its entirety (9:27), including the beautiful song, Unveil My Eyes by Salt of the Sound, please click below.