which one? you choose.

You know those days when your first instinct is criticism? Looking around at the world, you get in the funk of seeing nothing in people but flaws; things you could do so much better if you were them. That was me today in church of all places. I needed Christ desperately but I thought everyone else needed Him more. And Christ straight up rebuked me, right there sitting in the pews.

I was nit-picking a teacher (a volunteer teacher, none of us are paid to serve in Latter-day Saint congregations). Someone who was asked to teach a Sunday School and was not doing it the way I thought they should. After briefly considering getting up and leaving but consoling myself with the thought that it was almost over, I thought flashed into my brain; sudden and brief.

“Are you judging them? Or praying for them?”

Ooof. Because in that moment I knew exactly what I should have been doing for the last hour. And it certainly wasn’t picking apart their approach and methods. I should have been offering up prayers on their behalf, asking that they feel peace and comfort; and expressing gratitude that they were willing to serve the Lord with an offering straight from their heart.

Guys, I want praying for others to be my first instinct, not the reminder I get after criticizing them. I want to feel one with my brothers and sisters. All of humankind. By praying for their good instead of placing myself on a pedestal that doesn’t exist. We all need Christ. Equally. I don’t need Him any less than others. I cannot become like my Heavenly Parents without His constant cleansing and sanctifying power. And neither can anyone else. So let’s all cut each other a break, embrace His mercy, and pray, pray, pray for one another.