My Pride, My Worry

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus
Just to take Him at His word

My pride says to me,
"No, it's not!"
 My pride says
"You must plan
And have it all together
You must know where you're heading
Where you are and where you're going"

She says
"You can't achieve it without being 100% sure"
She says
"You must have the blueprint
And know what will happen
You can not be less than 100% sure
and expect it all to work out"

What she means is
"There is no benefit in trusting Jesus
You can't be silly enough to take Him at His word, can you?
He is not enough to trust
He can't be trusted to handle your future
You can NEVER relax in the God Who knows the beginning from the end and everything in between
Does He really know even???
And does He have the power to orchestrate the future even if He does know??"

She means
"You don't need God
Because God leaves You unsure
And unsure = Insecure
Insecurity = Disaster
Disaster = Miserable"

Now Pride allows Worry to step in
She allows Worry to take a seat
And Worry feeds on Pride's words
First with water
Then with a soft drink
Then with shitɔ
She asks for ketchup
Then she demands desert
And before she gets up
She wants the next meal

And Pride willingly feeds her
She spoils her rotten
And is glad to do so
Because Pride would sooooo do anything
That will oppose the Will of God

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus
Just to take Him at His Word

Worry becomes fat
And becomes more and more troublesome
Worry refuses to budge
But only feeds more and more on Pride's words
The blueprint is never finished

It is only useful for making me blue
And I cry
And I weep
I lose my temper at the slightest whim
And get frustrated
I turn away from the Saviour
And fix my life on my own

But how is it possible???
How can I fix myself and my future when I am sooo fallible
Without my God
My Lord My Lord
Please come and help me
Save me from this
I am at my wit's end!!!

and call upon me in the day of trouble;
    I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.

Psalm 50:15 (ESV)

I feel the tune seep in 

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus

I see my Saviour and let Him in

I unbolt the doors that Pride has locked

I am bruised and cut 

Pride attacks with her words

She tries to confuse me with her screams

She hits me hard and pushes Worry, weighing tonnes, over me

I cry out in pain

But 

Refuse to stop now

I am dying here

I want out

I want them both out!!!! 

Jesus save me!!!

Lord help me!!!

I can't sack them on my OWN!!!

and call upon me in the day of trouble;
    I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.

Psalm 50:15 (ESV) 

I hear a noise from afar

A thundering noise outside my door

My Saviour is within and without

He smashes the gates

He binds up Worry

And gags Pride

He puts them in a Tipper truck

And drives them far away

Dumps them, where?

I don't care *giggling so hard now*

Why worry about them

When It is 

Soooooooooooooo sweet to trust in Jesus

Just to take him at His word

And He says to me

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world

John 16:33 (NIV) 

 

He knows the future

He will take care of me

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus

Just to take Him at His word

Glory Glory GLORY

Glory to God alone!!!

Hallelujah




 And what about you?

Yes, you ...

What are you going to do about your Worry and Pride???

Definitions of Possible Unfamiliar words
Shitɔ: A Ghanaian hot sauce often made with oil, pepper, onions, ginger, ground dried herring and shrimp, and salt

Weird? No, just broken so I can grow...

I remember being guilty, so guilty I could not do anything about my sin. I would cry about it, pray about it, and do nothing about it. I would be exhausted and continue in my aimless work. Then I learnt that guilt hinders... So what did I do? I went to the other extreme: I was brazen faced and overconfident!!!

The Bible talks about brokenness... the way I missed... I read about it, but was always in a hurry to ever live it, but in the end never really lived it. I wanted to get over my sin and be done with it, wasting no more time... No wonder I came back to it. I refused to be broken. And because I was not broken, my pride remained and drew me back to my sin... 

My pride was there from the beginning. In my self pity and guilt spree, she was there... telling me if I were guilty enough, I would be fine... in my shameless confidence, she was there saying if I was forceful and indifferent enough, I would be free... And I believed the lie...

David talked in Psalm 51 (NIV):

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

 ¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
   according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
   blot out my transgressions.
² Wash away all my iniquity
   and cleanse me from my sin.

 ³ For I know my transgressions,
   and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
   and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
   and justified when you judge.
⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth,
   sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
⁶ Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
   you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

 ⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
   wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
   let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins
   and blot out all my iniquity.

 ¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
   and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
   or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
   and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

 ¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
   so that sinners will turn back to you.
¹⁴ Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
   you who are God my Savior,
   and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
¹⁵ Open my lips, Lord,
   and my mouth will declare your praise.
¹⁶ You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
   you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
¹⁷ My sacrifice, O God, is^[b] a broken spirit;
   a broken and contrite heart
   you, God, will not despise.

 ¹⁸ May it please you to prosper Zion,
   to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
   in burnt offerings offered whole;
   then bulls will be offered on your altar. 

I refused a pruning, what I really needed.... I either starved myself to get rid of the excess branches or pumped myself with fertilizer to increase my fruit yield. Both ways I was killing myself. 

I could not impose brokenness, I needed the Perfect Gardener to prune me, and pruning hurts!!! It exposes my pride, calls a spade a spade and not a big spoon. It reveals my need of Him... uncovers my foolish thinking and my wickedness in every guise. I just needed to yield myself to Him, and ask Him to break me. Now I refuse to leave His presence unbroken.... I will not leave in a hurry this time, in useless tears or foolish confidence... I will wait for Him, cry to Him, "Break me, Lord! Please break me Lord or I can not grow.... I will either grow sick or stunted till You break me, Lord!!!" 

So if, per chance, you see me or any other Christian in broken tears before our Lord, in persistent need before our Lord, in resilient kneel before the cross where our Saviour bled for us, where my OWN sin nailed Him and caused Him such agony, and you deem it unnecessary or weird... I am, we are allowing ourselves to undergo pruning that we can never do ourselves. We are availing ourselves to be broken by the Perfect Potter... We are subjecting ourselves to the necessary pain that brings true productiveness... We are choosing to grow according to His Word, not ours of ease.... definitely not mine of ease: satisfying my defunct conscience or ignoring my wrong. We are praying not to be deceived but relieved. We want our God to take over and get rid of our nonsense, willingly bearing His chastening rod under His ever loving hand, letting HIM have His way, not creating our own. We are crying to the loving Lord to be broken, so we can grow....

And you...???

Yes, who else...???

What about you...????

Stresses, disappointments: Blessings, Contentment: they just work TOGETHER

I have loved this verse for ages:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28 (KJV)

I believe I was brainwashed to love it initially: EVERYONE could say it and could use it for any situation, I guess. I heard it so many times I just loved it. But I started loving it MORE when I could say it in direct relation to something I was going through or had been through. Now praise be to God on high that I have fallen in love with it all over again... Do you know why?? I will most definitely tell you, *giggling*, that's why I'm here today... ;-)

At first, and for a long time too, when the verse had become real to me all I often saw was

And we know that ALL THINGS work together for the good of them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose....

Later I noticed the other phrases/clauses:

WE KNOW 

Boosted confidence levels to full tank turbo power!!! Adversities, perceived or real, approaching last position in pleasant speed... *wide smug*

THE GOOD 

Nothing's gonna go bad, even if it looks bad, feels bad, or even smells bad *hm! phew!* It's all in God's marvelous perfect sweet succulent and juicy plan (okay, I must confess I'm a bit hungry now) and it works for my good, my personal good, my family's good, my friends good, the "greater" good and simultaneously to the incredible glory of God too!!!

WHO LOVE GOD, TO THEM WHO ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE

That wasn't too pleasant then, especially because loving God didn't mean the mushiness that I felt glowing warmly inside me when I spoke of Him or thought of Him. Come to think of it, I'm glad it didn't since it wasn't a consistent, let alone constant feature in my life anyway. Loving God involved Jesus' explicit definition: 

If you love me, you will obey what I command 

John 14:15 NIV1984

Unpleasant but true, but now I am happy it says so because our God helps us obey Him according to His purpose as in Philippians 2:13:

for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Philippians 2:13 NIV1984

:) Splendid!!!

But honestly, my greatest recent delight in this verse is the word: TOGETHER. 

Yes, together... just that... one word pɛ! (only one word!)

Why?

Just because before I realised this, to me there were the good things that let us praise the Lord and the bad things that taught us and others lessons about God, us and the relationship He would so love us to have with Him and the things in between that made little, no or great impact on the lives connected to us. Funny enough, the three never worked together in my head. Separate entities with separate missions, or collaborations but never always working together. 

When I realised that they sweetly blend and gel hand in hand my perception of this verse moved from "For the bitter and the sweet in life" to the "For the bittersweet of life to the glory of our good God"; because God works them together. He doesn't just bless us and allow us to stress; he brings a blessing in a stress and a stress in a blessing to groom us, keep us, revive us, renew us, uplift us to His glory alone. We are content in disappointments and disappointed in the securest fortresses of contentment and the two work hand in hand to help us look up to Him in praise, in need of Him, in dependance, in awe, for sufficiency, for provision...

He works ALL together for our good and simultaneously according to His purpose for His glory alone. 

So the next time I am sad or glad, drained or pepped up to the max, and at the other paradoxes of life or the weird but not too unusual blends of the two, I can say with confidence that God works all things TOGETHER for my good. I may thus not undermine His pleasantries or exaggerate His chastening rod, I may just see it as that sweet blend of lime and pawpaw, pepper and onions, food flavouring and flour, mixed local spices and coleslaw, coffee and milk. Bitter, bland, sweet, extremes and similarities: Bittersweet, yes... but the perfect mix always to the glory of God...

And you....??

Yes, you...

What about you...???

Choose to be convinced, choose to hold a conviction

Hello, it's been a while... and I agree it was never your fault, that's even why I am much more glad you're reading this. I am honestly grateful to Jess who wrote something I read today that drew me back to this page again... thanks Jess.

So why this title... I was thinking this afternoon about our free will as human beings. And then I thought about some things I believed in and others I did not. Then I realised I arrived at these sets of beliefs and unbeliefs because somewhere along the line, I chose to believe them. All human beings, as a lot of research I can not name (because I don't know who researched on it) has proven, are born with a "blank" mind. hmmm... okay... so if I was born with a blank mind how come at twenty-something I have a whole set of beliefs and unbeliefs?? And why do I say I chose to believe them...  

I also thought about what I thought is allowably possible and what I thought was totally impossible and what I held as my convictions, my unwavering beliefs. And then it also occurred to me even more that I had come to these lists by my choice... hmmmm...

I do not disagree that our external environment plays a high role in an individuals list of beliefs, unbeliefs, convictions, what is thought as possible and what is thought as not. In fact it is one of the greatest factors that affect the list above which comes in many forms including parental and family influence, peer pressure (good and bad), experiences: personal, general and those of others, what we see, hear, touch, taste... the list goes on and on. But in the end, as our actions boil down eventually to what we chose or choose to do, our school of thought is also a choice we made and continue to make...

And I love using examples... so here's one...

As I said before, I believe the research that human beings are born with blank minds and pick up a lot along the way to fill it. When I was two, I may have been convinced that lying was wrong because those around me, which may have been mostly my siblings and age mates apart from my parents and their age mates, who were caught lying were punished. So I may have had an equation:

lying = punishment

punishment = wrong thing has been done           

lying = wrong thing

And then, when I was about seven I may have thought lying was smart, because all the smart kids lied without getting caught. So my belief equation changed to this:

smart people = good thing

lying = wrong thing

punishment = wrong thing has been done

lying - getting caught = no punishment

no punishment = no wrong thing has been done

no wrong thing has been done = good thing

lying - getting caught = good thing

smart people = lie - getting caught

I chose to believe this. Even at that age, I had a great hold on what I believed in, but I'm sure I had no idea I had. But it wasn't my fault that the children that happened to surround me lied...environmental factor?? But I chose to believe that those who lied escaped punishments because they were smart, and no punishment was a good thing making the act that came without punishment itself good, though by then I had been taught at home, school and my Chidren's Sunday School class that lying was a wrong.

Before I was twelve, I believed a lie was wrong. It had bad consequences that were not always immediately experienced but could easily and evidently be traced back to the lie. But then I believed that lying could be good in certain circumstances and God still approved of those lies... why then would He add the account of Rahab in Jericho in the Bible which helped the Israelites win...??? So because of these, I chose to believe that it was possible that lying could be both good, approved by God and bad, not what God wanted you to do then. 

Now some time after the age of twelve, I was convicted that lying was wrong not only because smart  people sometimes got caught which disproved my theory when I was seven, but the Bible told me so. It told me God could not lie, so He always told the truth which is the main conviction that brought me to  the particular conviction that lying was wrong. I chose to believe God was always right, no matter the "good" examples of how sad or unfortunate "good" people could get, like Job. I chose to believe that God's Word was true and told us the truth, and that's why it wouldn't hide the failings of the saints just to be a good book. I chose to believe that God would not lie, and therefore if He said disobeying His commands was wrong, then lying too was wrong... YOU SHALL NOT LIE... is part of the Ten Commandments and mentioned in other places of the Bible as wrong as well. I chose to believe that lies, especially unconfessed lies, had bad consequences (punishments) even though the Bible shows instances where lies were part of things that led to victorious battles, like Rahab in Jericho, but did not change the fact that lying was wrong. That even made it more of a conviction than any other; irrespective of examples and theories in the Bible, books, and my world around me... I chose to believe lying was wrong, even if justified. My conviction was my choice even more than ever.

So I could be brainwashed, blackmailed, threatened, wooed, persuaded, deceived, seduced to be convinced to accept a belief... but in the end if I accept that belief, it is my choice no matter how hard or easy the situation is. And my convictions: the same, even more so because I can allow a lot of things around me to justifiably disprove my convictions, but I still decide to stand firm in my conviction. 

God gave me a free will to choose what I will do and go on to do it... and He also gave me the free will to choose what I believed in, what I thought was possible and permissible, what I held as my convictions, at any point in time. And because I believe this, I now decide to choose to obey God irrespective of whether circumstances, past, present and future... my environment is favourable or not... My God is good and won't lie when He says

But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.

Jeremiah 7:23 (KJV)

My walk includes my schools of thought, they always affect my actions... I choose to obey God even in my schools of thought...

and you....

what about you??

Ah, God, Wonhunu sɛ...?

Ok, so this title is in twinglish... that's a nickname for mixing the two languages twi and english, either by mixing words or mixing and/or swapping grammatical syntax or semantics... But in english it means, "Ah, God, don't You see that..." 

Funny that I would be telling the All-seeing and All-knowing and Timeless God that, "Don't You see that..." That what??? Really, what can't He see or doesn't see? It's His nature to... so what do I mean??

We all have faced or still face sins we want to rid ourselves of, not only because God wants us to (unfortunately a lot of us would have stopped a loooong time ago if that was our most important reason for not sinning... though it should be the first and foremost reason... shame on us!) but because we are also afraid of the consequences of our sin: God's wrath, withheld blessings, reduced positive impact on society, damaged relationships including our relationship with God, public disgrace... The general term is habitual sin. Hm. Yes, we all have faced and some of us may still be facing habitual sinning...

I say this often and I am still convinced of this: There is no sin that I (you) have asked God to help me (you) stop that He did not warn me (you) after I (you) said that honestly genuine I-meant-it prayer and even right before I (you) fell in to it again... ask yourself if I am lying. Just look back at that sin you are facing (or used to face) and the time you first asked God to help you stop, and after that all the other time(s) you repeated that sin... no, don't imagine the one in the movie or your friend's life... let's be honest here... after all no one at this very moment knows what you're thinking... undoubtedly apart from God... is what I'm saying true? Or would you say partly true? Either way, God may not have blocked your sin from taking place (at least not all the time), but He did warn you, anaa*?

If you can agree with me, or partly agree... then one may ask... so why on earth do we keep on sinning?? And that's where the title comes in, "Ah, God, Wonhunu sɛ...?"

God helps us to stop sinning, especially if we confess (agree with Him) that it is wrong and ask Him to help us stop, but we start that debate when He steps in to prevent us from repeating it! Oh it's easy...

Ah, God, Wonhunu sɛ...

- that Prayer Mama* is also doing it, that means I'm not too bad a person in doing it too...?

- I'm not surfing on the net for porn, I'm just checking if what we learnt in Biology today or in Secondary School is as the lecturer said it is... after all, isn't voluntary research applauded...?

- sleeping-in a few more minutes will only cut my quiet time a few minutes... just for today...?

- he is the rudest human being alive! I need to rebuke him (2 Timothy 3:16) he doesn't deserve gentle instruction (2 Timothy 2:25) anymore... and it sure won't be gentle, he also needs to hear other things that are not in Your Word dito dito... tsssswwww*...?"

- that other Ogyacious* brother is doing worse...and he is still blessed and blessing us too...ah God, this small thing too, no where near his own, and you want me to stop....?"

- this is the last time I'm going to do it...?

- if we're going to do it 10 or less years later, why not now... after all, we love each other... and we still love You too as You love us and want us to be happy...?

- no one will see this time, so I won't be disgracing Your Name in front of others... and You know me God, I can't impress You...?

- I always come back and ask for forgiveness... just shows I still love You... and I'm prepared to work at this...?

- that particular command is too hard, and even no longer in vogue...?

- at least I'm still active in the Church and obeying all Your commands, it's just this one...?

- You never stop me?!? Or do You want me to continue in this sin...??

I think we get the point...

God will not 

...Lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil one

Matthew 6:13 (NIV)

But He gives us free will and will not force us from running to temptation or from spiting His deliverance. He surely meant it when He said in His word that

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

1 Corinthians 10:12, 13

And He remains faithful, even today in spite of all relativity theories and examples, that even plague Christians. 

One thing that helps me in these situations is

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature

Romans 13:14

Where thinking of how to gratify includes scheming, planning my cover up, planning the way to accomplish it with minimum "outsiders" being involved... planning an eat-your-cake-and-have-it scenario, or satisfy-myself-but-not-"all-the-way" case... oh, and yes, the grand debate, "Ah, God, Wonhunu sɛ...?" where it all begins...

God is love and forgives, but do we

...show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads [us] toward repentance?

Romans 2:4

The next time I start this "Ah, God, Wonhunu sɛ...?" and blame-comparison-and-relativity nonsense in regard to sin, the very sin I have agreed with God Himself that it is wrong (not that He needs me to anyway... what I say right now, or ever, won't make that sin something else apart from sin...), would I honestly look back at what I have said today, and stop, full stop, no comma... or would I continue to excuse myself or blame others, including God??

...and I must ask...

...will you...????

Unexplained not-so-familiar jargons or twi words in the text, now explained... lol...

anaa
:twi word for "or"

Mama
:a woman who is strong in the Lord and His work, therefore a Prayer Mama implies a woman with spiritual strength in prayer and or Christian spiritual warfare

tsswww
:onomatopoeia for an expression of contempt

The Skill of Loving

"Dear God," I usually pray, "Please help me show love today, and everyday...Help me be Jesus to someone today, even to my fellow Christians... May I touch someone's life with your love, O God... Help me love all the unlovables in my life, cos You loved me first, even when I was still in sin... I know You not only love me but give me the power to love others just as You do... May men see I am your disciple by loving others... I know You can do it and will do it, O God... In Jesus Name I pray with thanksgiving... Amen."

So the day starts...

And a family member asks for my opinion in a decision he is about to make, I refuse to help in any way... I'm too busy Facebooking and blogging, can't he see I'm busy!

I ignore the vendor I usually greet on the street, cos yesterday she duped me big time. How dare she! Does everyone she sells to associate with her without favours??? mmtchew

Another family member gives me the unwarranted cheek, hm! I could help her with what she's doing, it'd make life easier for her... but I won't throw myself at someone who can spite me at anytime, without seeing anything wrong with it too! After all everyone has specific chores here, and this is not one of mine... neither am I obliged to help you...

My roommate is asleep, she must be that tired, sleeping at this time of the day... I can keep my voice down... but she doesn't bother when I'm asleep, why should I?

"Oh, Ofosua... I commanded you to love..."

"Yes God, I know... I even asked for help to do so this morning... but God... these ones paa! Wouldn't it have been easier for me to love in more favourable circumstances...?"

 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

John 13:34,35 (NIV)

Ɛɛɛ... I get it... but... but... hmmm... I not only guess You're right, I know You're right...but it's hard, very hard... but wait, someone said: "The skill of doing comes from doing." It applies here too... *frustrated sigh*... the skill of loving comes from loving, the skill of obedience comes from obeying, the skill of loving the unlovable comes from loving the unlovable.... Oh, Lord! Forgive me! Did You not say in Your Word

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead ... As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

James 2:17, 26

I made that prayer in faith, I really did. I had no doubt that God would help me. But I nullified my faith by not living it out when I was presented with the opportunities to do just that! I had the chance to love like Jesus, who loved the very people the world may term unlovables, (even in this age of relativities... even more so in this age since there are so many standards)... but God loved the world so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die for the world... the same price He paid for me... He paid for all, lovables and unlovables alike. He gave me faith free of charge, and the power to act. But then I shove it with all those excuses... He equipped me with all I needed to live out what I asked for, but I did not develop the skill because I did not do... The skill of loving comes from loving... and if I don't love, how then will I learn to love, and acquire the "skill" to love...???

...and then I ask... as I usually do...

...what about you???

Hwɛ ɔno nso!

My second blog title in twi, literally translated: Look at him/her too... twi has a unisex pronoun for third person singular...

I've grown up hearing this expression said in disgust, in envy, in anger, in malice and slander, or in ridicule... but they always point to this (well, they do most of the times I've heard it): JUDGEMENT! 

Hwɛ ɔno nso! It makes me feel angry the first time I hear it, usually... I turn to the direction of the bullet's destination... who is that person who dares violate the law, the written code, the accepted norm, our social pride, the unspoken rule, the very WORD OF GOD... where is SHE... where is HE??? Lemme at him... lemme at him... (trying to mimic one of those cartoon characters like Scooby Doo's nephew...lol)

That was actually the first reaction one could jolt out of me... those magic words of Judgement! Hwɛ ɔno nso! Until one day I went to IHCF (an interdenominational and nondenominational Christian Fellowship on Campus (KNUST), a member of the bigger body of GHAFES), and Asare, one of the leaders, made a statement that put me to shame, and still does today...

He said something like this, "...And when you see that lady with the short skirt and seductive dressing all you can say to yourself as a Christian is, 'Hwɛ ɔno nso!' but you don't even bother to pray for her..."

I tell you, that day I was totally ashamed! I thought he'd conclude that with..."and you don't even bother to talk to her/ bother to share the gospel with her/ bother to tell her that she is in the wrong, etc...", that would have been easy, and left me as self righteous as before... because talking to her would have been easy to wiggle out of, right? Oh yeah, it would... there are a hundred and thirty-six excuses I could coin up for that. Examples:

Oh, she was in a hurry...

She was going the other way...

She could insult me and disgrace me in front of everyone...

I was in a hurry...

I was late for this very meeting...

I wasn't in the Spirit then...

God didn't tell me to approach her...

I was late for my midsem...

I know her roommate and I know God has specifically assigned her to do that job, He never gave that job to me...

I have to go and break my fast now or I'll be late for the meeting tonight that concludes my fast today...

I'm shy...

I may say it the wrong way...

She has a gun and will shoot me there and then! After tearing up my clothes!! And spitting in my face!!! And slapping me left, right and centre like there's no tomorrow!!!! (really?? get real!)

I guess you get the point... but prayer... the way he put it, I could not find any excuse that sounded excusable, even to me! And I bowed my head in shame...

I judge, too many times. And I don't even do anything about it, most of those times! And then, the illustration Jesus used in Matthew 7:3-5 hit me HARD!!

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.

Matthew 7:3-5 (NIV)

It wasn't just that I had my own issues to clear, I'm definitely no perfect saint... yet ;) ... but it was the fact that I wanted to cover up my own issues by emphasizing another's. I blinded myself to my own problems and the way to resolve them, and confused my sight to starting the process of helping the one I judged resolve his/hers. To God, all sin is sin... but all humans are in need of love, restoration, concern... prayer... and that's why we intercede... we are called to intercession as Christians, we face no condemnation (Romans 8:1), and we are called NOT to condemn as well, not to judge... 

Saying of or telling another: Hwɛ ɔno nso!, to me, doesn't only mean I pass judgement on others... it also means I overlook and cover my own flaws, condemn his/hers just to make me feel good and all "Christian" (why not? I've been able to fish out their wrong... sensitivity to the Spirit, no???... discernment??)... and it also means I'm not dealing with my own shortcomings, my sins... and  all my other hindrances that slow me down in my Christian race... I'm killing more than two birds with one stone, birds that were not formed to be executed without trial like that! 

The next time I say or hear, "Hwɛ no! (Look at him/her!)", or any "judging" comment for that matter... I will consciously remember that Jesus Christ died and rose again to save us all from sin and use us for God's glory... not my glory... and has called me to make a positive difference, which includes the very non-excusable things like a simple prayer... prayer for myself AND for them...

...and then I ask...

...will you too????