Why do we judge?

Why do we judge others?
What is our motivation?

We are desperate to feel good about ourselves.

Yet, ruined by our sin,
   we recognize our faults, our weaknesses, our sins,
      even if we are not consciously aware of them,
   the Holy Spirit is at work in our subconscious to reveal them to us,
to convict us that we may repent.

The human response to such a light shining in our dark places is twofold:
   self-renovation/self-improvement projects
      and
   comparative living.

We try to get better to assuage our conscience, and 
   we compare ourselves to select others that we may feel better about our lives 
due to our higher performance standards and successes.

In the end, all our comparisons fail us.
We are morally and spiritually bankrupt.
   We all know this at some level.
    It is the driving force and motivation to be better
and to compare ourselves to those who are worse.

Forgive.
   Redeem.

What we truly need is not a better life,
   but a new life;
      rejuvenation rather than renovation.

June 5, 2012