August 28, 2014 Judge Not Matthew 7:1-5 MY GRANDMOTHER. ALMA GRACE (MALAY) DAVIGNON, USED TO VISIT EVERY SUNDAY TO READ ME AND MY SIBLINGS THE SUNDAY COMICS. SHED USUALLY HAVE A JOKE OR TWO FROM THE WEEK AT WORK AND ULTIMATELY SHED SHARE SOME WORDS OF WISDOM - BUT THE ONE THING YOU COULD GUARANTEE SHED SAY, WEEK IN AND WEEK OUT, WAS - IF YOU CANT SAY ANYTHING NICE, DONT SAY ANYTHING AT ALL. FOR ME, THIS DEVELOPED INTO A PERSONAL THOUGHT PROCESS OF WHO AM I TO JUDGE? I AM CERTAINLY NOT FREE OF SIN. I HAVE THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS THAT ARE NOT NICE AT TIMES. IF THAT IS THE CASE, I ASSUME OTHERS, NOT ALL, HAVE SIMILAR THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS, AT TIMES. SO IF YOU HAVE A SPECK OF DUST IN YOUR EYE, THEN WHO AM I TO JUDGE, WHEN I HAVE A 2X4 STICKING OUT OF MY EYE? IT WOULD BE HYPOCRITICAL TO DO SO. AS SUCH, I WAS PROBABLY SEEN AS A WEAK MANAGER WHEN IT CAME TO ACCOUNTABILITY WHEN I WORKED AT WALMART. WHO WAS I TO JUDGE SOMEONE ON THEIR PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY OR QUALITY? WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES. AFTER ALL, WHO IS PERFECT? NOW SAFETY WAS THE EASIEST THING FOR ME TO HOLD PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE, YET AT TIMES I UNDERSTOOD WHY SOMEONE MIGHT PUT THEMSELVES IN A POSITION THAT CAUSED THEM TO GET INJURED - NOT THINKING, BECAUSE IF A DISTRACTING PROBLEM AT HOME (OR AT WORK). TRYING TO MAKE A PRODUCTION QUOTA, ETC. - RATHER THAN LOOK AT THE INCIDENT, IN AND OF ITSELF, IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR ME TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE INCIDENT. I WAS OFTEN CRITICIZED BY MY PEERS THAT I TOOK TOO LONG LOOKING INTO ALL THE STUFF SURROUNDING THE INCIDENT. I THINK IT WAS BECAUSE I UNDERSTOOD WHO PEOPLE PUT THEMSELVES INTO THE POSITIONS THEY DID BECAUSE I MYSELF COULD WALK A MILE IN THEIR SHOES. I COULDNT, IN MOST INSTANCES, SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT THE PERSON, AND I FELT THAT CONDEMNING THEM WITH JUDGEMENT (ACCOUNTABILITY) WAS NOT MY PLACE. WHILE MANY WERE READY TO HANG, I WAS FORGIVING. IT WASNT EASY BEING THAT WAY GIVEN PRESSURE TO BE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE - BUT I WASNT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE - THANKS TO MY GRANDMOTHER - GRACE. The traits in others that bother us are often habits we see in our own lives. Our sinful habits can be the very ones that we most want others to change. In a sense, we can tend to take the anger we feel toward ourselves and direct it at others. If you are ready to criticize someone, check your motives. Judge yourself first. Is that a sin you have known and struggled with? Let that experience and understanding guide you toward compassion, then lovingly forgive and help those who are struggling too. Read Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about a speck in your friends eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye, when you cant see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friends eye. (Matthew 7:1-5) Reflect Pronouncing judgment is not foreign to New Testament teaching. Jesus cautioned against false prophets (7:15-23), and Paul taught that we should exercise church discipline (1 Corinthians 5:1-2) and trust God to be the final Judge (1 Corinthians 4:3-5). But Jesus warning, Do not judge others, is against the attitude that tears others down in order to build oneself up. Jesus tells us to examine our own motives and conduct, looking for hypocrisy. This is not a blanket statement to overlook wrong behavior of others but a call to be discerning and reflective. We should apply every teaching to ourselves before we apply it to anyone else (Ezekiel 3:10-11). Respond The traits in others that bother us are often habits we see in our own lives. Our sinful habits can be the very ones that we most want others to change. In a sense, we can tend to take the anger we feel toward ourselves and direct it at others. If you are ready to criticize someone, check your motives. Judge yourself first. Is that a sin you have known and struggled with? Let that experience and understanding guide you toward compassion, then lovingly forgive and help those who are struggling too.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 11:44:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015