Maybe you’ve used the phrase “defining moment.” It is a point in your life when you experience something that fundamentally changes you. A “defining event” is similar. It is an incident that decides everything that happens afterward.
Speaking of definitions, I heard a quote recently that literally stopped me in my tracks. I was reading something by Earl Nightingale. He was an American radio speaker and author. He said this: “When you judge others, you do not define them, you define yourself.” When my eyes reached the period at the end of that sentence I felt a chill come over me. How many times have I casually judged someone’s appearance or someone’s heart, without really knowing it? Maybe you’ve done it too. Like me, you didn’t say anything, but you thought it.
What defines you? I’ve had to take a serious look at my heart. May I invite you to do the same? If you don’t like what you see, take Jesus’ words to heart. “Stop it.” (Matthew 7:1 [Bob’s personal paraphrase]).