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TheDiscipleMD

“I don’t understand it! I never have! How can a “professional stylist” make someone look so bad? How can they see me come in with my hair one way, and let me leave to the ridicule of the masses? Where is their heart! My haircut was so bad that my kids laughed at the sight of me!”

The above was a personal journal entry of mine of a couple of years ago. This past week I found myself in another salon. The nice young lady who was giving me my specifically requested “trim”, was talking with another stylist who was cutting another gentlemen’s hair in the seat next to us. My stylist was emphatically stating that she “never” fixes the mistakes of other hair stylists who mess up a client’s haircut. “It just too complicated,” she explained. Then she proceeded to bash a certain local salon because in her opinion they had too many “unprofessional” stylists. I found it rather amusing to listen to her judgment of others while I was witnessing the carnage that was happening to my own hair. At one point during this process she put a part in my hair that was just above the ear and asked me, “Is this where you part it?” I tried to politely reply that I didn’t even have a part in my hair, but she nonchalantly brushed it off and left it alone. As I walked out the door of the salon I not only took with me the certainty of a bad haircut, but the lesson again learned that it is easy to see the faults in others while not seeing our own.

There are but few of us who are not guilty of judging others in a negative light while giving ourselves and loved ones a “free pass.” It is so easy to do. I think that is why the Lord reminds us so often that we need to be less judgmental in what we do and say. There is a popular scripture found in Matthew which says:

“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?”

The point the Savior was making was to do unto others as we would unto ourselves. It’s a simple concept. I don’t think we need to go around solemn and pious and unable to express opinions about others and their actions. But I do think that we need to temper our thoughts, words and deeds by the admonition given by the Savior to leave final judgment to Him who knows the hearts and minds of us all.

Giving a bad haircut to someone is not a sin, and I’m sure my young stylist gives plenty of great haircuts over the course of the day. But she too, is human, and an occasional “bad one” is given. I just happened to have been the unfortunate recipient of it that day. I’m pretty sure she would be surprised to know that I thought she gave me a bad haircut. And although to me the mirror told a pretty straightforward story, a beam in the eye can be pretty hard to see through! So let’s be human, but not cruel in how we judge others.