Ladder in the Interstate

I have a bad habit of criticizing people.  I am even critical of you criticizing me.  What right do you have to criticize me for criticizing you?  So, at least four or five times I have seen ladders that have fallen off trucks on the interstate.  And I don’t mean on the side of the interstate, I mean ON the interstate … right in the lanes of traffic!  How negligent can drivers be!  So, last week I was coming back from East Brainerd with my eight-foot step ladder in the back of the truck.  I carefully put the big end down into the bed of the truck near the cab so most of the weight would hold it down.  But the top end stuck up out of the tailgate only by about ten inches.  It was dark and rainy with thunder clapping periodically and I was anxious to get home.  And when I did, there was no ladder in the bed of the truck.  Now don’t judge me.  If I had heard the ladder come out, I would have stopped to render assistance.  If it would have landed on a Mercedes, I would have given them my insurance information.  But I truly didn’t know.  Which leads me back to my bad habit of judging people.  I don’t mean to judge folk.  I normally help people if I know all of the information.  I normally help people by giving money or food or gas money if I know all of the circumstances.  Unless they are negligent.  Like someone who is negligent and, say, recklessly lets their ladder fall out onto the interstate.  That is until MY ladder fell out onto the interstate.  It’s easy to judge others and then to give ourselves a pass.  That’s because we know OUR excuses all too well, but we reject THEIR excuses AS excuses.  Jesus said in Luke 6:37, “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.”  Last week was a wake-up call for me.  I need to be more compassionate.  More understanding.  More kind.  Oh, I’m not going soft on meanness.  But last week I made a mistake.  And this week I am going to try to be more understanding when others make mistakes.  Even with their ladders.