Hello everyone,
Today I want to talk about judgments. Are they good or are they bad? Once I had someone tell me that we should never judge anything because judgments were bad. I responded that it seemed that we were judging judgments and that seemed bad too. Obviously this circular thought made my head spin. Today I was sitting at lunch with a couple of friends of mine and this subject came up again. We should never judge people right? Doesn't the bible tell us that we should not judge others? Actually, that is correct. The bible does say in Matthew 7:1 that we are to judge not lest we be judged.
So what does this mean? Should we judge anything at all after reading this verse? My friend at lunch today said that for every scripture in the bible, you can find some other scripture that contradicts it. I don't think this is totally true. I do very much believe that for every scripture in the bible we can find another one that seems to contradict it but I don't think the bible contradicts itself. God's not schizophrenic. He knows what He's doing when he rights something. My friends and I were talking about a highly debated subject in Christian circles and we were talking about someone that we both knew who was connected to the subject. My friend stated that he didn't judge this person we both know and I think that's right. I don't judge him either.
After all, most of us who call ourselves Christians are known for being judgmental of others while not judging ourselves very well. We seem to want to judge others in strict accordance with their actions while we want others to judge us through the eyes of grace. In other words, we want to judge others of their sins but we don't want to deal with our own sins. So we need to quit judging other people right?
The answer to that question is yes. But let's look at judgments in general for a second. I don't believe that all judgments are bad. I think we have to take a look at our own lives and judge our own actions. One of my friends at lunch today brought up the part of the bible where it says that we shouldn't go around trying to take the speck out of our brother's eye while we have a plank in our own and that's true but if you read the rest of that passage it says to take the plank out of your eye so you can see clearly how to take the speck out of your brothers.
Here's where I'm really going with this. While I don't believe that we should judge other people, I do think we need to have our own sense of what is right and wrong. Sin is sin. I don't have to judge or define it, the Bible does that on it's own. If someone's actions are wrong, it's OK to internally know that their actions are wrong. But to look at that same person and say they are a bad person isn't OK. The point I'm trying to make is that while I don't think we should judge anyone or exclude them from church for something they do that is wrong, I do think that we can acknowledge TO OURSELVES, not to them, that what they are doing isn't right. That doesn't make them a bad person, it doesn't condemn them to hell, it shouldn't even kick them out of the church but I am tired of hearing people white wash things that God clearly says is wrong.
So if you see someone doing something that the Bible defines as sin, don't judge them personally and the vast majority of the time it's not even your place to tell them what they are doing is wrong. But do notice that their actions don't line up with God's instructions. Then, without looking down at them or judging them personally, take a look at yourself and see what actions in your own life are not measuring up to God's instructions. Ask God to help you be a better Christian.
That's Another Opinion of the Minion
Today I want to talk about judgments. Are they good or are they bad? Once I had someone tell me that we should never judge anything because judgments were bad. I responded that it seemed that we were judging judgments and that seemed bad too. Obviously this circular thought made my head spin. Today I was sitting at lunch with a couple of friends of mine and this subject came up again. We should never judge people right? Doesn't the bible tell us that we should not judge others? Actually, that is correct. The bible does say in Matthew 7:1 that we are to judge not lest we be judged.
So what does this mean? Should we judge anything at all after reading this verse? My friend at lunch today said that for every scripture in the bible, you can find some other scripture that contradicts it. I don't think this is totally true. I do very much believe that for every scripture in the bible we can find another one that seems to contradict it but I don't think the bible contradicts itself. God's not schizophrenic. He knows what He's doing when he rights something. My friends and I were talking about a highly debated subject in Christian circles and we were talking about someone that we both knew who was connected to the subject. My friend stated that he didn't judge this person we both know and I think that's right. I don't judge him either.
After all, most of us who call ourselves Christians are known for being judgmental of others while not judging ourselves very well. We seem to want to judge others in strict accordance with their actions while we want others to judge us through the eyes of grace. In other words, we want to judge others of their sins but we don't want to deal with our own sins. So we need to quit judging other people right?
The answer to that question is yes. But let's look at judgments in general for a second. I don't believe that all judgments are bad. I think we have to take a look at our own lives and judge our own actions. One of my friends at lunch today brought up the part of the bible where it says that we shouldn't go around trying to take the speck out of our brother's eye while we have a plank in our own and that's true but if you read the rest of that passage it says to take the plank out of your eye so you can see clearly how to take the speck out of your brothers.
Here's where I'm really going with this. While I don't believe that we should judge other people, I do think we need to have our own sense of what is right and wrong. Sin is sin. I don't have to judge or define it, the Bible does that on it's own. If someone's actions are wrong, it's OK to internally know that their actions are wrong. But to look at that same person and say they are a bad person isn't OK. The point I'm trying to make is that while I don't think we should judge anyone or exclude them from church for something they do that is wrong, I do think that we can acknowledge TO OURSELVES, not to them, that what they are doing isn't right. That doesn't make them a bad person, it doesn't condemn them to hell, it shouldn't even kick them out of the church but I am tired of hearing people white wash things that God clearly says is wrong.
So if you see someone doing something that the Bible defines as sin, don't judge them personally and the vast majority of the time it's not even your place to tell them what they are doing is wrong. But do notice that their actions don't line up with God's instructions. Then, without looking down at them or judging them personally, take a look at yourself and see what actions in your own life are not measuring up to God's instructions. Ask God to help you be a better Christian.
That's Another Opinion of the Minion
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