Transcend: Judgment

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

These verses are often quoted as a reminder; a reminder of what love truly is. Sometimes they can be heard at a marriage ceremony, and other times in a sermon. Sometimes they are reduced to a checklist or a to-do list.

God showed me something today. He showed me that we are often too critical and judgmental of ourselves. We are habitually harder on ourselves than we are on anyone else. He showed me that I can be gentle towards myself, because He loves me unconditionally, and His love is not based on performance. It’s not based on what I do wrong and what I do right. I realized that I don’t love myself the same way. My self-love is often determined by my performance.

What would it look like to love ourselves the way these verses talk about?

What if we were more patient and kind with ourselves? What if we kept no record of our own wrongs?

The Word also teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we learned to be less judgmental toward ourselves, wouldn’t we also learn to love others in a more meaningful way?

I have heard it said that our outer world reflects our inner world. That can sound like a lot of pressure, but we can take it one day at a time. We can learn to be gentler with ourselves.