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Matthew 13:49b “The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous…”
Some of the most difficult decisions you will make throughout your life revolve around the topic of boundaries. It’s important to have healthy boundaries in place, especially in your relationships with others. You want to ensure you feel safe around others. As such, it’s important to recognize what (or who) may be unsafe, toxic, or even evil.
But the reason these decisions are so difficult is that it’s easy to draw the boundary line too soon. That person seems unsafe, so I won’t go near them. That person seems toxic, so I’ll limit my time with them. When you draw these boundary lines too soon, you miss out on a tremendous opportunity to get to know others who look, think, live, believe, and may sometimes behave very differently than you. But different may not always be wrong or unrighteous, it may just be…different.
The parable of the fishing net helps us to see that we are woefully unqualified to determine who may be righteous and who may be unrighteous. This is God’s role, and not ours.
READING & PRAYERS:
MATTHEW 13:47-51 (also read the commentary notes in your Study Bible of choice.)
QUESTION: Consider the previous 48 hours. On how many occasions did you determine that somebody else was unrighteous? What is the danger in living with these kinds of thoughts?
REAL LIFE PRACTICE: As you continue to slow down to be with Jesus a few times daily, pay attention to how this practice decreases your judgmental thoughts towards others.
Take a Step: Remember to continue utilizing the One Minute Pause app throughout the week. If possible, begin to explore and practice the 3, 5 or 10 minute pause to more deeply root yourself in Christ.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I don’t like to see myself as a judgmental person but I recognize I probably see others as either righteous or unrighteous far too often. Today, I’m grateful for the reminder that I am woefully unqualified to determine who is righteous and who is not. May I rest in the truth that this decision is outside of my control. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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