“When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’” — John 8:7

Looking Inward First

While our tendency to judge other people is certainly not limited to sports, they are one of the easiest areas for us to pass judgement.

In an NFC wild card game in 2016, the Minnesota Vikings were trailing the Seattle Seahawks 10-9. With seconds left, kicker Blair Walsh missed a 27-yard field goal that would have put the Vikings ahead. Despite receiving death threats after the game, Walsh took full responsibility for the miss and maintained a positive attitude.

When the Vikings started training camp the next season, a 15-year-old girl battling suicidal thoughts sent postcards to Walsh. In one of them, she wrote, “You’re the reason I didn’t give up.” What I love about this story is that Walsh didn’t blame anyone else or get angry. He looked for ways he could be encouraging through a difficult situation.

When the religious leaders tried to trap Jesus by asking Him if a woman caught committing adultery should be stoned, He changed the question. Instead of focusing on everyone else’s mistakes, Jesus challenged the Pharisees to look at themselves.

It’s a great lesson for all of us and something I think everyone can get better at. If we are serious about following Christ, we should be concentrating on our own sins and the ways we can grow closer to God.

– Joshua Doering

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