I am writing this to every single person I have ever judged. It is for those who were at the receiving end of the condemnatory glances that I carelessly threw out at those who were not like me. It is for those who I snobbishly and self-righteously belittled for holding different values than me or believing things I did not. It is for those whose intentions I judged when they wronged me or offended me. Whether you knew I was judging you or not, this is for you.

I recently listened to a lecture on tolerance. The speaker said, “Tolerance is being able to separate people from the ideas and values they hold that we may not agree with, and being able to love those people because of the faith, hope, and love we have in Jesus Christ.” Suddenly a thousand memories flooded my mind of times in which I had labeled and put people in boxes based on a select few things I knew about them. Whether it was a political affiliation, a religion, or just a brief interaction with them, I found it easier and more convenient to categorize people rather than getting to know who they truly were.

The Bible has plenty to say on judgment. Romans 2:1-3 states, “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?”

I have said and done things that I regret and desperately wish that I could take back. These things do not define who I am; but, to someone who does not know me well enough to recognize this, it would be easy for them to witness one of these things and make countless assumptions about me. So many times I myself have done this exact thing to others, and in doing so, I threw the very mercy and understanding that I would have wished upon myself out the window.

Whether it seemed justified at the time is irrelevant; I am a hypocrite for ever having judged anyone of you. It is not my responsibility or my right to judge you for any reason, and by trying to do so, I was attempting to take into my own hands the power that only God can rightfully possess. My only duty is to love you as I would love myself; that is, completely, unconditionally, and unreservedly, and I am sorry that I failed to do that.