“Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” John 7:24
Today’s Christian Daily Devotional
They say you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, right? I believe this verse is agreeing with that! Sometimes I watch the news and it feels like so many people “get away” with breaking the laws of society, because of “who” they know, what they look like or even what neighborhood they are from. We all know that this practice is not only unfair, it is unjust. Plain and simple—It is just not right. I challenge you to look at your personal life as I examine mine. How many times have I allowed a guy to look at me lustfully (because he was cute), and when I received the same kind of attention from someone that I was not attractive (according to my personal standards) then, suddenly, I had a problem with it. You see, the fact of the matter is: Allowing someone to “oggle” at me lustfully is wrong, no matter who the source of that attention was coming from. When we change our stance for whatever reason, we never really had a strong conviction to begin with. We are corrupted by our own justification. We must judge ourselves with sober judgment, if we are to become the kind of people who back up what they say and are consistent in every circumstance. When we do this, we develop strong leadership qualities that not only make us shine in the eyes of God, but allow us to effect the people who are looking for leaders who have a backbone.
“Dear Heavenly Father,
So much of what I do is based on how I feel at the moment. Lord, my feelings fluctuate so much, I know that they are not a reliable source for sound judgment. I want to be a person of integrity. Lord, when I look in the mirror in the quiet of my home, I want to respect the person looking back at me. I do not want it to be a reminder of how falsely I present myself to the world, while I live an inner life of hypocrisy. Help me to follow through, even if there is no reward in this life. Help me to do what I know in my heart is the right thing to do, and be satisfied that no matter what the cost is to me now, I am investing in my own moral character and that will give me a future that is brighter than I can see in this moment. In Jesus’ precious name, give me sober judgment of myself. Amen.”