I had the privilege of serving jury duty last week. I was very irritated when I received my summons last month because I have been called to jury duty four times since my early 20s. And my husband has never been summoned since becoming an adult. Out of all the thousands of citizens in my county, they picked me AGAIN. I have no idea what kind of lottery system they use, but I was chosen. When I made the required phone call to determine if I was reporting, the recording stated jurors numbers 1-223 were expected to arrive the next morning by 7:30 am. My number was within the range.
Anticipating my time in court, I diligently prepared two weeks' worth of work for my boss, fully aware that I might be required to serve more than the usual one day. With four summons for jury duty under my belt, I understood the importance of being ready. I packed snacks, a book, a phone charger, and an extra battery pack, fully embracing the responsibility that lay ahead.
Since my husband dropped me off early the following morning, I was only the third person in the jury duty lounge. It looked like we each claimed our section of the room. Others trickled in and made themselves comfortable as we waited for further guidance. No one seemed overly excited to be there.
All of us were selected and directed to go to the courtroom to be interviewed by the judge. The way the clerk sat us in the room with the judge, I landed in the jury box, with the perfect view of the judge, the prosecutor, the defendant, and the defendant's legal team. I never made it this far into the jury selection process, so to be in the courtroom was intriguing. It felt like I was on some drama series. The judge recited his series of questions as he tried to eliminate 211 people from his courtroom. After a few hours of deliberation, all potential jurors were asked to wait outside so the judge could do one-on-one interviews with us to review our responses more specifically.
This process took a couple of more hours. I sat and waited in the hallway with everyone else until the clerk called our juror number. It was a lengthy process and pretty time-consuming. I started to think of all the things I could be doing instead of just waiting. You could hear others sighing at the inconvenience of the long jury selection process. The hours in front of the judge and then waiting to see the judge was time no one wanted to spare, but when I stopped to think about the defendant, it wasn't considered wasted time anymore. I considered our judicial system and the due process our country uses to give an impartial and fair trial. My sour attitude turned into a grateful one as I thought of being able to live and serve my country and county this way.
Not even a second later, the Holy Spirit highlighted the current situation more personally. He showed me how I sometimes act like the judge and jury when "cases" come against me. Actually, it doesn't even have to be personal, but I don't always have unbiased conclusions. I may base it on emotions or not always have all the facts, but I do end up with a verdict. I certainly don't ask all the questions like the judge did with us.
As I sat in the hallway in front of the courtroom, God convicted me that He is the only judge and that I had and have no right to judge others. With or without the facts, I don't have the right to point fingers because I, too, am a sinner and have a boatload of issues that I have to reconcile. Don't get me wrong, I support our judicial system. I am referring to those instances where it's not breaking the law but more the heart. And how I inflict "imprisonment" based on emotions.
You may or may not be like me. But if you have even the slightest tendency to lean in my direction, take a moment and imagine yourself on the stand, not as the judge and not as the jury. You might find yourself more gracious and understanding.
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ~Matthew 7:1-2 (NIV)
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? ~James 4:2 (NIV)
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