Hi how are you all? I am well and looking forward to the Christmas break. The weather in my country at the moment is hot and humid. We can dream of a white Christmas but it will never happen.
Last week my husband and I were chatting about judging others and the danger of it. If you have been a Christian for a while then you may have heard the scripture found in Matthew 7:1. It states “Judge not, that you be not judged”. Verse 2 states “For with what judgement you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you”. This is a sobering scripture and one we need to guard against a lot.
In the dictionary, judge means to form an opinion or conclusion about. Often we judge others appearance, actions or words without knowing all the facts. Our opinion is based on what we see, hear or feel, but those things are fickle and can change. What we don’t see is the person’s past, heart or what’s really going on inside them. The question is – do we want to be judged without people knowing the whole story. Definitely not!
The scripture in Matthew talks about judging downwards. We look at someone and draw a conclusion that the person is underneath us in some way. Maybe they dress funny, smell funny or their attitude is bad. That is dangerous because others may be judging us the same way. Don’t judge downwards.
But equally dangerous is judging upwards. We look at people in prominent positions either in church, in the workplace, at school or even from a television set. We put people on a pedestal and when they do something wrong or don’t act the way we expect or speak the way we expect, we get disappointed and hurt.
I am here to give you a revelation. People are people and as long as we live on the earth, we will all continue to struggle with the fallen nature (see Romans 7:15 to 25). Don’t judge people down or up. So what should we do? Do what Jesus did and love. Show compassion to those less fortunate or to those who are struggling and pray for those in authority.
The love shown by the attributes in 1 Corinthians 13 will always win. So this week show and sow love wherever you go. This way you don’t reap a harvest of judgement but of love.
Bless you, have a great week and keep living the life God intended for you.
Karen
Living the life God intended 