Judge Not

"If you Judge people, you have no time to love them" has echoed through my mind countless times since President Monson shared this quote from Mother Teresa at the last General Relief Society Meeting. Sadly a few people came to mind that I'd been quick to judge without really knowing all the facts. I'd never shared my thoughts with anyone, but I certainly hadn't shown these individuals the love they probably needed at that time. I made a promise that night that I would make an effort to just love everyone and leave the judging to God.

The following humorous story was shared by President Monson and gets right to the point of his talk.

"A young couple, Lisa and John, moved into a new neighborhood. One morning while they were eating breakfast, Lisa looked out the window and watched her next-door neighbor hanging out her wash.

"That laundry's not clean!" Lisa exclaimed. "Our neighbor doesn't know how to get clothes clean!"

John looked on but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, Lisa would make the same comments.

A few weeks later, Lisa was surprised to glance out her window and see a nice, clean wash hanging in her neighbor's yard. She said to her husband, "Look, John—she's finally learned how to wash correctly! I wonder how she did it."

John replied, "Well, dear, I have the answer for you. You'll be interested to know that I got up early this morning and washed our windows!"

This is a funny, yet sad, story to me. How often are we acting just like Lisa? What if we changed ourselves and were filled with the pure love of Christ?

One last thought, to help us be a little better.
"Life is perfect for none of us. Rather than being judgmental and critical of each other, may we have the pure love of Christ for our fellow travelers in this journey through life. May we recognize that each one is doing her best to deal with the challenges which come her way, and may we strive to do our best to help out."

Go to Charity Never Faileth By President Monson to read the full talk.