One of the most common expressions of human pride is the propensity to want to stand as judge over other people. It is one of the most telling expressions of pride because it essentially involves us taking the place of God whose sole prerogative it is to judge people. One of the most common (but least recognised) manifestations of the judgemental attitude is slander. You are probably thinking of slander in its obvious form, that is, overtly blackening a person’s reputation. However, there is a less obvious, and far more insidious form of slander. It is when we feign innocence and very selectively share information about another person that gives only a negative slant. It is when we subtly caricature another person in a way that makes another person think less of them. Every person has a dark side, including you and me. If all people saw was your dark side, then they would have a false view of you. The sins and failures of a person are the malfunctioning of their positive capacities. We all get it wrong; we all find ourselves in situations that bring out the worst in us. If you happen to witness the worst in someone you should be careful not to characterise them by this. God does not value people according to their mistakes and neither should you. If you do, then it is you who is in conflict with God, not them. Choose instead to speak well of others and help people to view each other with empathy and grace.
Ask God to forgive you for when you have judged others.
Read James 4:11-12 and Matthew 7:1-5
