Daily devotions and inspirational messages
for Healthy Eating & Losing Weight

Sep

1

“Do not judge”

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Verse Reflections:  I am a judger!  I confess.  I will in two seconds sweep someone’s body and make a call about their body fat content, whether or not they athletic, how they wear their clothes… I have no doubt this is why I am so hard on myself. “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged.”  And yet, I truly want everyone to be happy in their skin.  Down in my heart I don’t care, it is just a bad habit.  It makes me angry that women today tend to be so hard on themselves.  It makes me angry that we have such high standards.  It makes me angry that ads focus on thin, young women that wouldn’t last a week if they got sick.  My younger sister is gorgeous and she got an opportunity to do a photo shoot for Elle Magazine when she was in high school.  She is 5’10” and at the time weighed about 125.  The modeling agency wanted her to lose down to 115 for the shoot.  Healthy weight for that height is 135 to 165.  Thank God (literally) we had a wise mother who put her foot down and said “no”.  “You will not lose that kind of weight for any opportunity; it is not healthy and I do not want you working in an industry that expects that of you.  My outdoorsy, wear no makeup sister did not argue and that was the last time she did any modeling.”  I think the reason I micromanage every bite I put in my mouth, every pound I lose or gain is because of this verse.  If I could quit judging myself, I would not use the same measure on others.  So, today, I will not judge myself or others.  I will remind myself that I am beautiful.   I will only look in the face of the person that I talk to and I will concentrate on their eyes and their words.  The rest of it does not matter.  I will not judge their bodies, their clothes, their eating habits.  I will love each person unconditionally and my measure will be the soul, not the body.  God is telling us clearly in this verse not to judge.  Come on people, that is what we do and we need to quit.  Half of you reading this are within 30 pounds of a healthy weight and yet you are so hard on yourself that you despise your body.  We all need to quit it this second!  God has given you a healthy, beautiful body.  And yes, we need to take care of our health and our body but we do not need to judge them.  Today you will celebrate your body and not judge.  And yet, we will eat God foods to take care of our bodies.  If we lose the 30 pounds more power to us but if we do not, we will not judge ourselves or others.

Prayer:

Father, guide me as I learn to see people—both new faces and old friends—through Your eyes. Teach me to measure others by the depth of their hearts and the beauty of their souls, not by outward appearances. Help me to stop focusing on physical features like legs, stomachs, arms, or chins. Lord, I don’t need to look at the body at all—I need You to train my heart to care only about what truly matters.  Help me let go of the judgment I place on my own body. I confess that I am often my harshest critic. I want to change, Lord. I love You, and I want my thoughts to reflect Your truth. I’ve spent a lifetime obsessing over weight, health, and appearances. Sometimes I convince myself that I don’t judge others, but deep down, I know I still do.

I believe every body type is beautiful. Just as every vase is unique and lovely, regardless of its shape or size, so are our bodies. And with Your help, I want to stop fixating on the vase and instead celebrate the flowers within—each person’s soul, purpose, and inner beauty.

This world is temporary, and so are our physical bodies. Why do we give them so much power, when they’re only with us for a short time? Lord, if I focus on the soul, the rest won’t matter—not even what I eat. Heal me from this mindset. Set me free from the cycle of judgment and enroll me in Your school of grace and eternal perspective. I want to change. I want to see the beauty You’ve planted in every heart—including my own. Today, I choose not to judge. I choose to celebrate every person, including myself. Thank You for the chance to walk this path

Daily Challenge