Does someone’s habit bug the life out of you? Do you feel uncomfortable when a certain person is around you? What are you thinking in those moments – love, peace, long-suffering…?
Judge not or you will be judged. This doesn’t mean we let our guard down. This does not mean we should not listen to discernment. This means we do not draw conclusions about someone before we know all the facts. Or we do not jump on the bandwagon unless we are certain of the truth.
We live in a society that easily judges others. Many of us grew up “dissing” one another’s family as kids as a joke, but when does the joke cross the line. When do we stop making fun of and start believing? The best thing is to avoid such banter. Words hurt, and so does how we look at others. Our body language tells others if we want to be around them or not. So many mixed signals cross our paths on a daily basis that we may be hurting more people that we think just by our casual interaction with them.
The most unfortunate thing about how we judge others is the way we judge them for the very things we dislike most about ourselves. In fact, we try to make them look worse than we are in order to justify our own actions. I’m guilty.
Jesus doesn’t stop there. He says that whatever measure you use to judge others, then that measure will be used against you. Do you turn your nose up? Do you shrink away from others? Do you avoid eye contact? Do you purposefully ignore them? Do you cross to the other side of the street when you see them coming? Do you talk about them behind their back? Do you sabotage them to make them look really bad? Which one is it? Is there another way in which you pass judgment?
Is turn about fair play? What if others begin to judge you in the same manner? What is God thinking about you?
The problem with judging others for their sinful practices is that most often we do not stop and look at ourselves first. We fail to acknowledge our own shortcomings in lieu of covering them up by establishing the worst in others. What good am I to others if I condemn them for their sins and continue acting in my own? My sins keep me from helping others overcome their sins. Why? My sins steal my testimony. Moreover, without overcoming sin, I cannot possibly be of any help to others. The only expert in overcoming sin is someone who has overcome.
I have to turn first to Jesus, overcome sin, and then make myself available to be used by Him. My testimony only becomes a testimony when I cease being a hypocrite and start being an example of God’s grace. There are too many hypocrites in the church already. It is time I stop being one of them. Can you say that about yourself?
Here is where Jesus draws the line, however. Some people will not receive God’s gift of grace with mere testimony. Discernment will reveal to you who they are. God’s word is sacred and should not be given to those who will waste it. God’s grace is precious and should not be wasted on those who will trample it. This doesn’t mean we are to stop sharing the Good News with unbelievers. This means we need to be aware of how we are using our testimony. Are we badgering the person? Are we causing people to hate God by being unrelenting in our pursuit of them? Or are we planting seeds and allowing the Holy Spirit to bring someone else into the picture to water them? This last part is not a warning about others. It is a warning about us.
- Have you ever let someone assess how you react towards others? Why not?
- Have you ever prayed Psalm 139:23-24? Why or why not?
- What do you think about the warning in verse 6? Do you view it differently now?
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