Thou Shalt not Judge

      It always cracks me up to hear this! As soon as you Dare to tell someone they might be doing something wrong..."Thou shall not Judge" !!!   Ok, it is Close to an actual Bible quote but not Quite!  The interesting thing is that we hear this pseudo-quote from those who really have No understanding of the scripture. They seem to Want this verse (Matt. 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.) to mean that we should just accept Any lifestyle choice, sin or rebellion in which a person wishes to participate. 

      Jesus didn't just say, Don't judge, but He made His meaning clear by continuing on with explaining that we will be judged by the same measure, whether the measure is one of Justice or a measure of Mercy. Furthermore, while we are pointing out the splinter in someone else's eye, we have a big old log in our own. Our "caring" action of "helping" our brother with his splinter shows us to be hypocrites.  We can't possibly hope to offer assistance to anyone with a splinter while we have that big log in the way.  Even if we manage to get that Log out, I'm pretty sure there are plenty of splinters left over!!  This still leaves us in a position in which we are not worthy to judge others. 

     As Christians, we are Often accused of Judging others. Usually we are accused by people who don't wish to be held accountable for their actions. But these are Not the only people we are guilty of judging. Sadly, I have to admit that we are probably doing a Lot more judging that we Realize.   And to top it off, we may be judging those we love as often, and as harshly, as the worst of "sinners."
      So, what exactly is "judging"?  The dictionary says that to Judge is to form an opinion, a conclusion, or give a verdict. That seems pretty straightforward.  Jesus commanded us not to judge others and we Believe we are pretty good about not being Too judgmental.  I found some things we need to consider.

· We break this command when we think the worst of others.

· We break this command when we only speak to others of their faults.

· We break this command when we judge an entire life only by its worst moments.

· We break this command when we judge the hidden motives of others.

· We break this command when we judge others without considering ourselves in their same circumstances.

WHOA!!  Hang on a second, "think the worst"? only point out faults?  judge the hidden motives?   judge by the worst moments, their biggest mistakes/ sins?  

How often do we believe we Know the motives behind another's actions?  Is there someone you only view as a list of Faults?  What about the person that you always Expect the very worst out of them?

Ok, so we judge and we aren't supposed to, but how can we stop it?
The answer is clear and concise, but its not Easy!  
     Mark 12:29-31 love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’   This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
To make this even more clear, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7  explains Exactly what Love is all about.  
      4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

    Love answers the problem of judging others, as well as many of our other sinful thoughts and actions.  (1 Peter 4:8)
Now all we have to do is figure out how to really Love others as much as we love ourselves.

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