Judge Not------Unless You're on Jury Duty

     Judge not lest ye be judged.  Ever had that quoted AT you?  I have.  Matthew 7:1 is probably one of the most miss-quoted scriptures in the Bible.  

     A few months ago I got that dreaded letter in the mail.  I had been selected for jury duty.  Seriously?  I was about to go on vacation.  And when I came back from vacation I was starting a new job assignment that would require lots and lots of training and concentration.  All to be interrupted for the next four months by jury duty.  

     You know.  Some people have jury duty and never even have to report.  The four months go by without interruption and jury duty is a thing of the past.  So maybe that would happen for me.

     Yeah right.  First day of reporting I tried to hide in the back of the courtroom.  I stayed quiet and avoided eye contact with the judge and attorneys.  I wore my bright pink stilettos so, that if they saw them, they would think I was eccentric and not choose me.  None of that worked.  I found myself seated on my first jury.

     There I was, no cell phone allowed, taking notes, and being asked to judge another person.  Judge! That word!   Me.  For two days even.  

     But what about judge not lest ye be judged?  Well here's the deal.  When reading the next 4 verses we find out that it's okay when we've got our own lives in order.  Did I have my life in order?  Was I worthy of passing judgment on someone else?  I will admit that I sat in the jury box praying as I was being asked to judge.  It was an awesome responsibility.  And I wanted to make the right decision.

     Well that one went by well and we were even given pizza for lunch as we were locked in that jury room deliberating.  Yeah, locked in.  Another thing I had to overcome.  Was it really necessary to lock the door to that tiny room filled with 11 other people I didn't know but had to eventually agree with? Surprisingly we arrived at a decision fairly quickly and blew the mind of the plaintiff's attorney when he found out he wasn't going to get a ton of money he expected to get. 

     Thinking one time would be all I would have to go, I breathed a sigh of relief.  Now I could get to learnin' my new job.  Right.........  Called downtown once again to the courthouse, I found myself sitting in that jury box again!  This time I missed it by 3 people.  Whew!  Only took half a day for that one.  Surely I was done.

     Not so fast.  One more time to the courthouse.  Again I sat quietly in the back.  And again it didn't work.  My name was called first and I found myself one more time in that jury box.  And one more time on a jury and asked to judge someone.  And be locked in that room again!

     Jury duty will be a thing of the past for me very soon.  I'm glad.  And I'm thankful for the soul searching jury duty brought my way.  Judge not lest ye be judged?  It's a good idea to re-read Matthew 7:1-5 every now and then.  And get things right first.