“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” (Romans 2:1 NIV)
Judging others brings judgement. The term “egg on your face” has different theories on its origin. John Ciardi was an American poet who studied words. He theorized the phrase came from rowdy theatrical performances. If a performer wasn’t up to par, the crowd would throw eggs at him. As I picture the judgement we bring on ourselves when we judge others, I imagine it like getting pelted with eggs. You lob one egg, you get hundreds thrown back at you.
Another common theory for “egg on your face” is simply having egg remnants left around your mouth after eating one. The problem is, you don’t realize you have “egg on your face.” Only those looking at you can see the problem. Even in this scenario, if we’re judging someone else, we’re doing it while looking foolish. Either way, when you judge others, you end up with egg on your face.
Judging others brings judgement.
Judging is easy to do. We all judge. When you walk in a room you make judgements: Is the room empty? What’s the temperature of the room? Is the room clean? All of these thoughts run through our mind without even realizing it. Judging our environment is a normal part of life. We need to judge to know what to do: turn off the lights, turn on the lights, raise the temperature, lower the temperature, etc. Judging helps us assess our current position in life and determine what course of action we need to take.
People are part of our environment. We judge them as easily as we do a room. What we do with our judgements is key to our relationship with God. Are we using our judgements to love people better? Or are we using them to make ourselves feel better about our lives?
For instance, I had coffee with a friend recently. I noticed immediately how tired she looked. She doesn’t usually look tired, I judged quickly, something was wrong. With love, I asked her if everything was ok? I expressed my concern for her lack of sleep. She appreciated that I had noticed and went on to tell me what was going on in her life. We drew closer because of my judgement.
But I’ve also handled judgement wrong. I’ve assumed I knew what someone else was thinking when I didn’t. Faulty judgements bring judgement on ourselves. If we don’t have all the facts, we shouldn’t judge. Judging ends with “egg on your face,” one way or the other.
Question of the Day:
Who or what have you misjudged lately?
Further Reading: 1 Chronicles 16:37-18:17 NIV, Romans 2:1-24 NIV, Psalm 10:16-18 NIV, Proverbs 19:8-9 NIV
