Where to point the Finger

Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned.

Lk.6:37

Jesus is giving his great teaching in his Sermon on the Mount. Here he explains how we are to relate with other imperfect human beings. He's very clear... do not judge, do not condemn, forgive.

These are very easy to agree to when reading but they're hard to practice. People are just so in need of my judgement, condemnation and unforgiveness.... yeah right!

I fell into this trap just yesterday when I met with a church worker who I judged was not only doing a poor job but actually doing damage. What do you do with that? I guess a starting place is to not judge. Yes, things are being done poorly but maybe I could help or offer encouragement? Also, a dose of compassion would go a long way as well. I don't know what else is going on in that person's life, what crosses she is carrying.

So today is to be a day of no finger pointing or if there is, point the finger at me.

Dear Jesus, forgive me for my finger pointing propensity. Help me start with compassion and then offer constructive help and encouragement instead.
Little Flower, please pray for me.