Did you know that God did not set us up as judges? He reserves that job for himself. We cannot see into anyone’s heart, nor can we know everything they have done. Essentially we only have a small part of the picture. When I hear of the misdeeds of one of our employees, I always try to bring them in to hear their side of the story before making a judgment. It almost always changes my perception of the situation to hear the other side of the story. I cannot fairly assess the situation without the proper information. Appearances can be deceiving. Assumptions are often wrong. Don’t jump to conclusions and don’t set yourself up as the perfect judge. Who are we to criticize anyone else anyway? Jesus said you should remove the board from your own eye rather than worrying about a speck in someone else’s eye.
We should not try to judge people even if God did not expressly forbid it, because we can never know the full story. The next time you assume the worst about someone with a judgmental attitude. Think about two things. One you do not have the entire story. Two, God does not want or need your help in the judging department. Oh yeah, you might think about this too. If you decide to judge someone, you are in danger of being judged by the same standards that you issue judgment. That might prove to be pretty scary to some people.
Lighten up and give people a break. You are not perfect and neither are they. We all struggle with the same satan and his supernatural evil power, and we all have our good and bad moments. Basically we should stick with God’s greatest commands, that we love our God with all our heart and soul and after that we should love each other. People who love each other are not condemning, they are sympathetic, understanding, supportive, forgiving and kind. Sound like anyone you know? It sounds like the One that we should all be trying to emulate, Jesus Christ.
Jesus stated that He did not come into the world to condemn it, but to save it. Some of His harshest Words were leveled at the Pharisees and their “Holier than thou” attitudes. Remember the parable about the scribes who wanted to stone an adulteress caught in the very act. Jesus wrote something in the dirt and then told them that whoever was without sin to cast the first stone. They all left without casting the first stone beginning with the oldest. What did He write in the dirt? I do not know but I could guess that it might have been: tell a lie, lust, covet, envy, etc.
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Matt. 7:1
“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.
April 20, 2016 – Click here to listen