Welcome my friend, come on in & we’ll enjoy a cuppa together. Today’s post is a follow on from Shielding Your Heart, we’ll be reflecting upon heart attitudes that often colour One’s perspective. Including a little challenge.

I thought we would enjoy a Café Latté  with a slice of my home baked gf Date & Coconut Bread. Now we’re comfy let’s begin…

Judgement Calls

Do you make judgement calls on other’s lives? No, you don’t believe so?

Then let me ask you the following & please give each a little thought;

• Do you have an opinion on what you think certain people in your life should be doing?
• Or how they should be doing it?
• Or have certain expectations on how & when they should be connecting with you?  

It’s sobering to give these questions some thought…

Because my friend we are all guilty of making judgement calls on Other’s lives at some point in our lives & without truely knowing their circumstances. For we can never truely know what another person is facing, as most people don’t actually share their personal life, even with their closest of family or friends.

The following story, I heard many years ago, gives a unique perspective on this;

The Story

There lived a little lady in the most beautiful stone cottage. The cottage sat in a little village on the side of a hill on the English Coast, it had a delightful garden full of hollyhocks, daffodils, pansies with trellises of sweet peas & wisteria growing.

There was a stone fence surrounding this garden where her pets roamed freely & wildlife often visited. The most breathtaking view could be seen from her kitchen window, where she stood preparing her meals. From this vantage point she could see her neighbour’s yards, the village below & out to the sea beyond.

She was well known in this village as she had lived there many a year & had once been active in the community. And from all appearances One would have thought this lady had much love & wisdom to share, for her outward life seemed as pious & neat as her quaint cottage garden. But circumstances had changed her…

Sadly, people didn’t stop by as often as they once had for they’d noticed the change in her, her words were often critical & cutting.

However, her friends & neighbours still tried to support her as best they could within their own seasons of life. But she had become dismissive of their challenges & solely focused upon her own. 

When her Pastor came to visit one day, as he often did, & as they were sitting at her kitchen table enjoying morning tea overlooking that breathtaking view. This little lady couldn’t contain her exasperation any longer, she blurted out that she was so sick & tired of looking at her neighbour’s dirty washing hanging on the line that spoilt her view! She lamented that her neighbour couldn’t even clean her laundry properly anymore!

The Pastor hadn’t noticed the washing up to that point for he had been enjoying the view of the village & the sea beyond. But when he focused upon it, he thought actually the washing does indeed look like it has stains & a brownish hue. However, he didn’t enter into her lament noticing the bitterness in her voice & chose to change the subject.

After he said his farewells & was walking up the road he happened to glance over at the neighbour’s washing swaying in the sea breeze. And noticed a curious thing, the washing was bright & beautifully clean without spot or hue.

It suddenly occurred to him why a different perspective had been seen through the lady’s window. Her windows needed a good clean, looking through grubby windows had given her neighbour’s laundry an appearance of being soiled.

The take away

This story illustrates that when looking through a window of hurt, loneliness, resentment, rejection or bitterness Other’s lives can appear distorted & judgement often follows.

Jesus words remind us of the following;

“…why worry about a speck in your neighbour’s eye when you have a log in your own?”

Matthew 7: 3

Cleaning Windows of the Heart

So how do we clean grubby attitudes ot the heart?

We need to do this with Jesus for He is always waiting & willing to help us, we need to hand these attitudes over to Him in prayer & the circumstances that caused them, allowing His Holy Spirit to cleanse our hearts & those circumstances, for we all need to keep short accounts with the Lord.

And we also need to remember that only God can supply all our needs, especially our emotional needs, not others.

And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19 AMP 

May kindness shine forth in all we do through a heart cleansed by God’s grace, love & compassion to give out that same love to Others.

As most people really are trying to do their very best within their circumstances, they don’t need extra burdens placed upon them by others.