I’ve been struggling for days with the words to write. I’ve started several blog posts, only to leave them in my drafts. So when I read the daily verse from the Bible app this morning, I knew it was as simple as this:

Judge not, that you be not judged. (Matt. 7:1)

I learned the hard way that when you judge others, when you think you’re not capable of falling in the most reprehensible ways,  when you stand on a pedestal and point out everyone else’s wrongs, when you lack grace and forgiveness, you have put yourself in prime position to receive from others the very judgment you dole out.

I’m thankful for the hard lesson it took to learn the truth of this verse: we are all capable of doing the very thing for which we judge others.

I’m thankful for the compassion, grace and empathy I’ve experienced, for now I know how to extend them to others. And I’m thankful that when I fail to extend them, I’m quickly reminded to step down from my pedestal of judgment.