LOVE'S JUDGMENT

"We tend to judge others by their actions and ourselves by our intentions." - Stephen Covey

Isaiah 11:3-4 (AMP)
3 ... And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, neither decide by the hearing of His ears;
4 But with righteousness and justice shall He judge...

Our perception affects the state of our relationships and our homes. When we see wrongs everywhere we turn, we'll see our relationship and marriage as a living hell we just have to endure. But that may just be a very false picture we create for ourselves because of the way we look at things. Whether we are happy many times or sad, depends a great deal on how we see people as a whole. Have you noticed that if you go by people's actions you'll condemn them a lot? The reason is because their actions sometimes fail to correctly convey and communicate their intention. We all should learn from God. He doesn't judge based on actions alone; His judgment is first based on intention. Take a look at today's opening quote by Stephen Covey. Oftentimes we get pissed when people misunderstand us. We expect them to have had more faith in us and to somehow see that what they thought was not what we meant. It's funny that we really expect people to somehow know what we were thinking. But all that goes to show that we love to be judged based on our intentions, not our actions (what we did or failed to do). If only people could see our hearts many times, they'd know we meant well.

Our text from the Bible today is about the life of Jesus spoken about by the prophet Isaiah in his prophecy many years before Jesus was born. Jesus is a perfect example of someone who judged people by their intentions. He had the opportunity to condemn many times but He didn't. Remember the guy whose ear Peter cut off with a sword when they came to arrest Jesus? If Jesus was judging that guy and condemning him based on his action, He would not have healed his ear. But He did heal his ear because He was looking at the guy's heart, his intention, not just at his action. Jesus saw that if he really knew and understood that He, Jesus, was the Son of God, he wouldn't have allowed other people use him against Jesus. It was for this same reason Jesus asked for mercy for the soldiers who killed Him, because He was looking at their intention. For the same reason also, He forgave Peter after Peter denied Him three times. Jesus never ever said a word again to Peter about the denials. We can examine more examples. Jesus shows us how to judge even when people do us wrong. We can show mercy when we look past their actions.

Now let's bring it home to your relationship. Some not-too-nice things will be done to you by your wife, husband or partner you're engaged to. How you respond matters and how you respond is a function of how you judge. If your judgment is based on what you can see, hear and perceive generally with your five senses, you'll make multiple mistakes in your conclusions that won't augur well for the health of your relationship. The first thing you must always tell yourself is that your spouse/partner means well. Their actions may not say that perfectly but you should tell yourself that. To keep your relationship strong and happy, you've got to work at learning how to judge and make conclusions that are righteous and just. Such righteous and just conclusions are those made by looking past the wrongs your five senses bring to your attention from your spouse/partner into what might have been their intention. If we'll work at being calm enough when things seem not to go right, patient enough when it seems those we love are hurting us and considerate enough to look into their intentions, we'll save ourselves from being unhappy. As a result, we'll also have less disagreements and misunderstanding. My message to you today is that you should not hastily draw conclusions. Believe some more in your partner/spouse.

Keep Loving, Keep Living...............LOVE ISSUES
@Bibilovejunkie