Never Satisfied

By Andrea Merrell

But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God?

Will the thing formed say to him who formed it,

"Why have you made me like this?"

Does not the potter have power over the clay,

from the same lump to make one vessel

for honor and another for dishonor:

Romans (:20-21 NKJV

We all know the Bible says “Judge not.” In other words, don’t put yourself in the position of judge over people, situations, and even yourself.

I’ve been guilty of all three, especially the latter. I’ve moaned and complained more times than I can count.

It seems we’re never satisfied. If we have curly hair, we’d prefer it to be straight. If we’re short, we want to be tall. If we’re musical, we’d rather be athletic—and vice versa.

It’s taken me a long time to realize that when we give God our laundry list of all the things we don’t like about ourselves, we dishonor the One who created us. The creation railing against the Creator. The sheep telling the Shepherd how to do his job. The clay instructing the potter.

God knew exactly what He was doing when He formed each of us in our mother’s womb. We are unique. Special. One of a kind. God breathed the breath of life into us with a plan and purpose that could be fulfilled by no one else. 

I’m not saying that I never complain anymore, but I’m certainly working on it. I love this quote by Barbara Walters that I read in a book many years ago: “I am who I am. I look like I look. I am my age.”

Wise words to live by. I think I’ll try it. How about you?

(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Stuart Miles.)

TWEETABLE

Giving God our list of all the things we don’t like about ourselves dishonors our Creator. It’s the clay instructing the potter … the sheep telling the Shepherd how to do His job. Via @AndreaMerrell (Click to tweet.)

To read in browser or leave a comment, click here.

 

Judge Not

By Andrea Merrell

Judge not, that you be not judged.  

For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged;

and with the measure you use, 

it will be measured back to you.  

Matthew 7:1-3

It was one of the toughest situations in my life. It was devastating, especially since the events were tearing a church apart.

And there I was, on staff and right in the midst of the chaos, with no one to turn to until God stepped in and cleaned up the mess.

They say time heals all wounds, but does it? One day—over five years after the fact—I found myself in an emotional battle when the guilty party’s name came up. This man had hurt me, betrayed me, and left a lot of wounded souls in his wake. How could he ever be used in ministry again? How could he be trusted?

But I had forgiven and moved on ... hadn’t I?

My own hurt had deceived me … betrayed me. Thinking I had done what was right in God’s eyes, I had actually failed miserably. One morning in my devotional reading, God turned on the light and turned up the heat. He showed me that I had unknowingly set myself up as judge and jury, sentencing this man to a life separated from God and God’s calling on his life. In my mind and heart, I had rejected, judged, and condemned another believer.

The Bible says judge not. When we ignore God’s Word—whether consciously or not—we set ourselves up for failure. When we sow judgment, that’s what we reap. We receive a much better harvest when we plant seeds of kindness, mercy, forgiveness, and love.

This scenario taught me a valuable lesson: check your heart daily and don’t take anything for granted. God never intended for us to judge, only to love.

(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Sira Anamwong.)

TWEETABLE

God never intended for us to judge, only to love. (Click to Tweet.)

To read in browser, click here.