Judge Not

Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged

Lately I've been struggling with not being judgmental of others.  The world we live in is very cutthroat and sometimes I feel like I have to compare myself to others in order to make myself look better.  I tend to see others faults so as to justify my own.  This is not what the Lord wants. Christ taught us not to judge others because we will be judged with the same measure.  Now usually when I read that verse I think only of the final judgment and I say to myself "well that's ok cause I'm not doing the things that this guy is doing so I'm fine if they judge me against that."  But a few days ago I had an epiphany.  I realized there was a more immediate application.  Another big problem I have is that I'm too hard on myself, demanding perfection and getting depressed when I continue to see the same faults.  The realization I came to was that because I judge others, I've created a habit of judging that has no sanctuary, not even for myself.  I judge myself too harshly because that's the way I judge others.  I need to be more merciful towards others and remember that they are all children of God just struggling like myself in a very wicked world.  When I see them like God does, namely, as spiritual beings having a physical experience, I can see myself as God does as well.  This will allow me to not be so hard on myself by realizing that God is merciful and only asks that I let his Son cleanse and purify me.  By having a compassionate judgment towards others I will be more compassionate towards myself.