Be the advocate, and not the judge

Do you think that you have the moral power to decide other people’s cases? No, you don’t. But that is what most of us attempt to do on daily basis. We are sometimes hasty in concluding who people are, their intentions, their motives and their dispositions. We size people up, put them on our own personal scales and determine their abilities, skills and potentials. We measure people using our own yardsticks and then decide who they are, in our own minds. This attitude has been the basis of our relationships with other people – we conclude too soon. We become the judge of other people’s character, the character we ourselves cannot even measure up to. What a hypocrisy!

Meanwhile, our real assignment is to become an advocate – a person who supports, defends and promotes the interests of others. We are to stand in the gap for the people around us and become the voice for those who do not have voices. If all of us are judges, then who will plead the course of another? We don’t need judges as much as we need advocates. Imagine what the whole world would look like if we all advocate for one another. Imagine that other people are supporting and arguing your cause as you do the same for others.
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This week, I challenge you to be the advocate. There are people who need you to support them, hold their hands, plead on their behalf, speak for them, fight for them, and become a bridge for them. One’s fulfilment in life comes, not from deciding other people’s cases, but through the positive impact we make on other people. The reason some people are unhappy and unfulfilled is because they took the wrong job – a judge, instead of an advocate. Let us all resign from being the judge and accept our new roles as advocates for others.

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Actions for the week

1. Start with a self-check. Have you been a judge or an advocate? You may need to make a U-turn, stop being a judge and start being an advocate for other people instead
2. What practical things can you do this week to stand in the gap for someone else? Think about someone specific. Write your proposed actions down and then follow through with actions.
3. Share this message with others in your network so they too can become advocates

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A quote to remember
Nothing exalts the soul or gives it a sheer sense of buoyancy and victory so much as being used to change the lives of other people. – E. Stanley Jones

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Until another time,
Dele Ola, Award-Winning Author of Be A Change Agent
Click HERE to learn about and get copies of Dele’s Books