Daily writing prompt

List three books that have had an impact on you. Why?

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Proverbs, Matthew, and Romans are three books that talk about God’s good judgement and have had an amazing impact on me all of my adult life. Here’s a quotation from each one of them.

“A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.” Proverbs 21:2.

“I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.” Matthew 12:36.

“You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.” Romans 14:10.

Good Judgment

If there is no
Good judgment,
Then people can say
That every thought, feeling,
Desire, opinion,
And behavior
Is equal
And that no one
Ever does wrong.
If people are silenced
From expressing
What their conscience
Has to say
Then everyone can sing
Their own song
And proudly say
That it is good.
They can proclaim
Their guilt isn’t real
And the same
For the shame
That they feel,
While they loudly judge
And boldly blame
Anyone who quotes
God’s good judgement
To help them along.
When people say,
“I’m a good person,”
They are judging themselves
To be perfectly
Righteous, honest and fair,
When the truth is
We all know
Deep inside
That we’re not.

God’s judgement is good because it exposes the fallacies of our human subjectivity and reveals the reality of His objectivity. Ancient monks writing in a book called “The Philokalia” (Greek for “love of wisdom”) encourage people to continually pray this prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me a sinner.”