Judging is not our place- It's God's

*My best friend and I collaborated for this piece. I'm lucky to have friends to chime in with their ideas and help me adapt them into something that can be published. TMM, I love you! Thanks for the help this week.

I'd like to start by saying: I am perfect. God made me exactly the way I am. Have I made mistakes? Sure have. But God knew every mistake I would make; in this sense, I am perfect. If you can sit in front of a mirror and look at yourself and say "I have never made a mistake [like so-and-so has], then you are lying to yourself.
We live in a society where people are so quick to judge. The ironic part is that we point fingers when our own hands are not clean. Matthew 7:1-5 says, "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. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye', when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
What kind of message are we sending to kids when we teach them not to "talk bad" about others, and then they hear us gossiping at the ball fields just a few hours later? It seems counterintuitive to purposefully go out of your way to gossip about someone when you have much bigger issues going on in your own household. For example, how can you criticize someone for their "lifestyle choices" when you're partying every weekend? If you want to do so, by all means, go for it. Just don't criticize others for doing the same. How can you condemn someone for "shacking up" with their significant other when there is an affair going on under your own roof? Throw your stones only when you have no sins on your own plate.
I have two kids. Granted, they are just toddlers. However, I know that I will be able to understand that my children are the masters of their own destiny. I, as their mother, am the one who is going to teach them the most about what is right and wrong. Ultimately, though, they are responsible for their own actions and the decisions they will make throughout their life.
I am under no illusion that my children will be perfect angels. I know they will experiment and make bad decisions during their teenage years. They did not create the expression "young and stupid" because of one teenager; it is universal. My husband and I will do our best to steer our children in the right directions and encourage them to lead lives that they can be proud of. I am confident enough to say that my husband and I are proud of the life we live and the influence we will have on our children as they grow up. We do our very best to let people be exactly who they are, and we do our very best not to judge. It's not our place; it's God's.