Rid Yourself of Double Standards
The LORD detests differing weights, and dishonest
scales do not please him. – Proverbs 20:23
He snarls at me in disdain. Venom drips from a mouth
that usually smiles as insincerely as his words. He has judged me and found me
guilty. It infuriates him that I won’t confess my “sin.”
I shake my head and walk away. No matter how many lies
he’s heard and told, those lies don’t become truth. My conscious is clear. I am
not perfect. No way. But I did not do this vile thing he’s determined to blame
on me.
I consider his own life as I walk away. It is in
shambles. His dishonesty and venom have finally poisoned those closest to him.
They have moved away, deciding that distance is better than the drama and
turmoil that is a constant in his life.
It is easier to judge me and a situation that is
really none of his business than to look in the mirror and judge himself. Do
you know someone like that? Have you encountered someone determined to condemn
you while making excuses for their own disasters?
Maybe you’ve been that person. It sure is easier to
see the speck in someone else’s eye than to see the plank in our own. (Matthew
7:3) We make excuses for our own conduct while condemning someone else.
Another woman speaks highly of trust. She just can’t
have a relationship with someone she can’t trust. I hold my tongue – barely.
She is one of the least trustworthy people I know. She is a backstabber and a
liar. She manipulates people for her own purposes. Yet she gets angry if someone
else doesn’t behave as she things they should. She is blind to her own double
standards.
It’s just so easy to judge others with a different
measuring stick than the one we judge ourselves with.
We hate lies but we told one today rather than admit
to our friend that we went on an adventure without them. We can’t abide excuses
yet that’s just what we offer up when we fail to do what we’ve promised our
kids we would do. We preach a sermon to anyone who will listen but we don’t
live our own lives with integrity.
None of us are perfect. None of us have all the
answers. And not one of us truly knows the heart of another person. It doesn’t
stop us from judging.
The next time you’re inclined to condemn someone else,
take a moment to look in the mirror. What do you see? A flawed person who has
made his share of mistakes. Close your mouth and ask God for forgiveness for
the double standard that lives in your heart.
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