JUDGING OTHERS I can be forgiving to judgmental people as long as I’m sure they’re not judging me. When I think that I’m being judged, my thought is: this hurts, and I can live without you judgmental people. So I avoid them. At a deeper level, when someone is judging me, I feel like I’m not good enough. It makes me feel that I have to lie up to expectations to earn acceptance. And I’m not sure I’ll be able to pull that off. That produces anxiety, and loneliness isn’t as intensely painful as anxiety, so I pull away from people. Clearly Jesus wants us to love those who have ungracious attitudes. How does one do that without getting emotionally devastated? Here’s what Jesus said to me about this: You don’t earn acceptance. I love sinners. And: You are good enough. I took away your sin and made you holy (John 1:29, Col. 3:12, Rom. 5:17). Jesus, please help us believe these truths in our hearts and not just in our heads.