Doing the sermon notes every week at my day job, is like being in church. I glean nuggets from the pastor’s notes. He gives me the fill-in-the-blank answers and I create the power points from this. What made me pause was this sentence, “If I am humble, I will demonstrate a non-judgmental attitude toward people.”
He referenced James 4:11-12:
Brothers and sisters, don’t say evil things about each other. Whoever insults or criticizes a brother or sister insults and criticizes the Law. If you find fault with the Law, you are not a doer of the Law but a judge over it. There is only one lawgiver and judge, and he is able to save and to destroy. But you who judge your neighbor, who are you?
I admit to an overly-critical spirit. Maybe that made me a good book critic? I am working on myself with this, opening my mind to what God wants, His kingdom, not my own. Another pastor shared this nugget during prayer time: Always give people the benefit of the doubt.
That goes with a non-judgmental attitude.
Some things God makes stick in my mind, like those two things. I know He wants me to give people the benefit of the doubt. The tricky part is figuring out when a feeling is Holy Spirit inspired or just the emotion of the moment and past bad experiences.
As a missionary and person, I practice listening more and talking less, even online. I am hoping practice makes perfect.