We are at war. In last week’s post, Satan’s Secret Trap, we saw how Satan tries to destroy joy and peace in our relationships by stirring up judgment between us and important people in our lives. It is a major strategy to defeat God’s children.

When we hold onto judgment, it grows in our hearts like a dark cloud. It leads to bitterness, making us, well, bitter—to ourselves and to others. The sourness from judgment is damaging. It drags us down, destroying relationships with family, friends, and co-workers.

It also affects our relationship with the Lord, making it more difficult to worship, to hear or see Him, and to daily walk in His strength and grace. It robs us of love and life.

Consequently, Jesus told us not to judge, warning that we will be judged in return. (Matt. 7:1-2).

Paul told the believers in Roman, “In whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things” (Rom 2:1). He then asked, “Why do you judge your brother?” and added, “for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (Rom. 14:10).

He told the Ephesians, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4:31-32). As bad as this list of negatives sounds, they are all things that grow from judgment, often without our knowledge.

Nobody wants these things in his heart. We don’t wake up one day and decide to give the enemy permission to steal our joy and peace and wreck our relationships. We want to live in the righteousness, peace, and joy that is available to all who are children of God.

However, it’s not always easy to simply quit judging because you decide to. Therefore, the next step is to learn how to combat a judgmental spirit.

Steps to fight a judgmental spirit:

1. Take the log out of your own eye (Matt. 7:1-5). The other person may be in the wrong, but you have no right to judge, neither can you help them, as long as your vision is being blocked by sin in your life. Deal with yourself first.
   1. Ask God to search your heart and to show you any unrighteousness in your heart (Ps. 139:23-24).
   2. Repent of sin in your life, including taking God’s place as you judged the other person/people (Acts 8:22-23).
2. Forgive the other person for wrong(s) they have done.
   1. Forgive them in your heart and before God, so that God will forgive you for your sins (Matt. 6:12, 14-15).
   2. If it will not cause harm, ask their forgiveness for wronging them. If tensions have been strong and obvious in a close relationship, this could be important, greatly reducing the time it takes for an evil-for-evil relationship to be restored (Matt. 6:23-24).
3. Pray and give thanks for them daily (Matt. 5:44).
   1. Bless instead of judging. Bless through praying for God to bless them, but also seek the Lord for a special way to bless the person–through serving or a gift (1 Pet.3:8-9).
   2. Give thanks and guard your mind from negative thoughts. For each negative/critical thought that comes to mind about that person, think of two or three things that you are thankful for about that person. (Phil. 4:8, Eph. 6:18-20).
4. Be still. Wait on God. Work on your own heart (your responsibility) and trust God to do His work in you and in the other person (God’s responsibility). It will likely take time to completely surrender your heart for change. Only then will you begin to be successful in changing your thought patterns, so be patient!
5. Trust in the Lord. He wants the best for you and desires that you be freed from the bondage of judgment and bitterness even more than you do. You can trust in Him.

He has allowed the other person/people in your life for a reason. Could it be that they are tools to shape you into His image? Could it He is allowing you to go through this hard time so you can experience greater freedom, fuller life, and richer communion with Him than you’ve ever experienced before?

The freedom and life you will find is worth the battle. Endure. Fight to the end for kingdom life, trusting the Lord to do His work in you.

Satan has been defeated. The war has been won. You don’t have to be weighed down because of the enemy’s wiles. You can reign in life through Jesus Christ and enjoy righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

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The story of my struggle with judgment and bitterness and how I overcame it is available through the free e-book, The Judgment Trap, available for download in the side bar at the top of the page.