JOURNEY THRU THE BIBLE — DAY 7
January 7, 2020
Genesis 7 / Matthew 7 / Ezra 7 / Acts 7
THOUGHTS ON MATTHEW 7:1
It’s interesting that the word “judge” in Matthew 7:1 is a neutral word. It simply means “to separate, pick out, select or choose.”
We all have to make moral decisions and exercise discernment on a daily basis. That’s not a bad thing, and, it’s not what Jesus was correcting.
The kind of judgement Jesus is lowering a sledge hammer on is whenever we take a position of superiority over another person made in the image of God. Jesus is talking about our tendency to allow a kind of self-righteous, critical attitude to seep into our minds and hearts, so that we assume the absolute worst about other people — about their attitudes, actions, words, behavior, character and decisions. Instead of allowing our attitudes and opinions to be shaped and formed by the unconditional and extravagant love of the Father, we allow them to be shaped by our own fears, suspicions, insecurities, conventional wisdom and even the evil one himself.
It’s interesting that Jesus hung out with an incredibly diverse group of people. What’s even more interesting is that people who were nothing like Jesus actually seemed to like Jesus. I’ll write that again:
“People who were nothing like Jesus actually seemed to like Jesus.”
—Andy Stanley
Could it be that one of the reasons unchurched, irreligious people liked Jesus was that He never made them feel judged, criticized or condemned. Jesus didn’t look at the people who came to him and say: “You’re an adulterer… You’re a cheater and tax collector… You’re a hothead… You’re a know-it-all… Or, you’re a crook…”
Jesus refused to LABEL people. He simply LOVED them. What would happen if we made a decision to resist the urge to LABEL others, and made proactive decision simply to LOVE them, instead?
Years ago I attempted to form a “sticky statement” that helped communicate the truth of Matthew 7:1. This is what I came up with this little statement:
The next time you’re tempted to criticize and judge,
choose to respond with grace, prayer and love.
Romans 14:4 asks one of the most important questions we could ever ask ourselves:
“Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?”
In other words, “The person you’re judging doesn’t belong to you and isn’t accountable to you… They belong to God… They’re accountable to Him.”
“To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand,
for the Lord is able to make them stand.” —Rom 14:4
I love the last line in Romans 14:4 where Paul writes: “We’re all going to one day stand before God, and here’s what I choose to believe about you: You’re not going to fall. You’re not going to fail. You are going to stand.” In other words, “I choose to believe the best about you!”
Is that the way you relate to the people you’re in relationship with? The people you go to church with? The people in your office? The family member who regularly ticks you off?
Do you relate to people based on your own suspicions and insecurities, or do you relate to them based on your trust and faith in God’s ability to finish the work He has started?
The book of James contains this challenge:
Don’t bad-mouth each other, friends. It’s God’s Word, his Message, his Royal Rule, that takes a beating in that kind of talk. You’re supposed to be honoring the Message, not writing graffiti all over it. God is in charge of deciding human destiny. Who do you think you are to meddle in the destiny of others?
—James 4:11-12 MSG
Seven Signs That You Are Judging Others:
Years ago J.D. Greear shared a blog featuring seven signs you are judging others. They included the following:
- You’re more enraged at someone else’s sin than you are embarrassed by your own.
- You refuse to forgive (or when you forgive, you refuse to forget.)
- You size people up and cut them off when they disagree with you. “We can’t be friends if we disagree…” But the biblical pattern is that we’re called to love the PERSON more than we love our POSITION.
- You refuse to receive correction.
- You refuse to provide correction to a close friend in an attitude of love.
- You share gossip. You involve people in a problem who aren’t part of the problem and can’t be part of the solution.
- You write people off as a hopeless case or cause.
Jesus’ solution was simply: STOP IT! Don’t do it!
The Message Translation of Matthew 7:1 reads like this:
Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. —MSG
A PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I’m so prone to see the sin in someone else, while ignoring the sin in my own life. Help me to love the people around me — to love them enough that I’m even willing to confront them on issues that could damage their soul… But help me to refuse the urge to judge them. Help me to remember that this person is NOT “my servant…”
“To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand,
for the Lord is able to make them stand.” —Rom 14:4
Help me to believe the best about others, not the worst… Help me to honor you and others by my words, actions and behaviors. In Jesus’ name. Amen.