Stop Judging Yourself: Motives of the Heart

“Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts, and then everyone will receive praise from God.” ~1 Corinthians 4:5

Learning to Stop Judging Yourself

Choosing to stop judging yourself is the first step toward letting God search our hearts instead.

No one likes being judged, yet we judge ourselves daily. I judge myself when I look in the mirror, hear my voice in a video, or think about how others perceive me. This is a habit I have become too comfortable with. Maybe you have too. It seems harmless enough because I’m directing criticism at myself to “self-improve”. Paul tells us this internal self-judgment is not okay.

He writes to the Corinthians, “I do not even pass judgment on myself” (3b)! Shouldn’t we know ourselves better than anyone? Shouldn’t we be able to make tweaks and corrections and pinpoint imperfections? Actually…no! Paul informs us that we do not even know the full motives of our hearts! Only God can and will manifest our innermost self to us. To take that role from God by placing it onto ourselves is hubris!

Ultimately, to judge ourselves is to put the focus on ourselves. If we want to grow closer to God we must ask Him to, “bring to light what is hidden in darkness and…manifest the motives of our hearts….” Only “then everyone will receive praise from God.” If we want to start receiving praise from God, become more like Him, and less like our “idealistic” selves, then we must stop the judgment and start letting God reveal and refine our hearts no matter how uncomfortable that will be.

Always improve the present moment.