Jesus tells us not to judge each other because most of the time, our flaws are far worse than those we seek to judge. We all have a lot of work to do on this one. How do we develop a habit of perceiving the big flaws in ourselves before we go picking at the smaller flaws in others? One way to get ourselves out this trouble is to simply not see the flaws in others. I know people who are that well-disciplined and generous in spirit. They are much more spiritually mature than most of us. But for many others, live and let live, is their motto. That is taking the uncomplicated way out. There is no self-examination there.

Jesus’ message for us today challenges me to not just to ignore the faults of others, but to first engage in self-reflection of my own sins. That is demanding work. But if I do that honestly, and try to resolve them, I think I might even be able to lovingly help others to resolve their own sins as well. It seems to me that a healthy Christian community is a place where we can all learn to engage in deep self-reflection of our own sins as we lovingly stand in solidarity with and learn to forgive each other.

Unfortunately, our larger society is not ready for this right now. There is too much self-righteousness on the part of people who pass judgment on others without any compassion for them. Jesus clearly warns us against that sort of behavior. I pray today that Christians can model self-examination and forgiveness for others in solidarity with them as we work together to create hope for our nation and the world.