Judge and jury

When Jon and I are on our walks, we love to check out our neighbors yards. Sometimes we find a flower bed well done and thriving. Other times, the weeds or worse have taken over and we give it a thumbs down.
Take the two yards with trees that have bent in the recent winds and have not been tended to. They need to be cut out and something else planted in there. Yesterday we noticed that oun house had planted a palm tree too close and it is about to overtake the house. What were they thinking?
Then there is the house in an area further from our subdivision that is painted as camouflage! How would you like to be their neighbor and have your house up for sale? It sure is not hiding!
These walks seem to be honing my skill as a judge and jury. Too bad that I am not on the committee from the homeowners association that comes around 3-4 times a year to check up on the yards. If the yard does not measure up, you get a notice . Sort of like a ‘fix it ticket‘. We got one the first year we were here. We had put in a new garage door and had not gotten it painted yet.
All this judging of yards is OK, I guess but yesterday God showed me it had crept into my personal life. I was holding a grudge against three people that I felt had given poor counsel to a friend and she was suffering due to it. Here is the dialog God and I had:
“There is only one Lawgiver and Judge and you are not it. I am! Who are you to judge these people? I am their master and they answer to me, not you.“
“But God, I don’t think they gave the right counsel.”
“You have speak about something you have no knowledge of. My ways are not your ways nor are they intended to be. You are leaning on your own understanding which is so limited.”
“ Do I have a log in my eye ?”
“ Yes, a big one. You are keeping these people chained to the wall of your mind until they admit they made a mistake, based on your opinion!. That is the log of arrogance. Did you forget that when you judge, that is the same way you will be judged?”
“ I admit, I have wanted justice for them and mercy for me. I repent and choose, by and act of my will, not my emotions, for forgive. I know that if I don’t, the sin of unforgiveness blocks my relationship with you. I don’t want that.”
“ You are forgiven based on the blood of the Son. Now, when these names or faces come up in your mind, remember that you have released them. They are no longer chained in your mind, gathering free rent and causing you to have to guard them and check up to see if they have paid the debt you perceived they owed you - an apology. I am the Judge and I will deal with my servants. Be at peace about this and put away your clipboard. You are fired from your job as judge and jury.”