With what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. —Matthew 7:2
Romans 2:1 applies it in even a more definite way by saying that the one who criticizes another is guilty of the very same thing. God looks not only at the act itself, but also at the possibility of committing it, which He sees by looking at our hearts. To begin with, we do not believe the statements of the Bible. For instance, do we really believe the statement that says we criticize in others the very things we are guilty of ourselves? The reason we see hypocrisy, deceit, and a lack of genuineness in others is that they are all in our own hearts. The greatest characteristic of a saint is humility, as evidenced by being able to say honestly and humbly, “Yes, all those, as well as other evils, would have been exhibited in me if it were not for the grace of God. Therefore, I have no right to judge.”
Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). He went on to say, in effect, “If you do judge, you will be judged in exactly the same way.” Who of us would dare to stand before God and say, “My God, judge me as I have judged others”? We have judged others as sinners— if God should judge us in the same way, we would be condemned to hell. Yet God judges us on the basis of the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ.
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June 22 2016
Journal Entry for Today
Good Morning God and I must tell You that this devotional snapped me up with a bolt of conviction about my judgments. I was feeling all warm and cozy in my judgements of members of what has been called the right wing conservative Christian community. For some reason I was perfectly comfortable in NOT judging sinners, I looked at the behavior differently than the person, but I did not and was not doing the same thing for the so called right wing Christian community. I was judging what I saw as their lack of acceptance and forgiveness of certain “special interest groups” within Christendom. Further, I was quite comfortable with this “noble” forgiveness I was giving “special interest groups” and even more comfortable with my “righteous indignation” aimed at my more conservative brethren. Please forgive me Lord, and help me become forgiving and accepting of everyone.
And God says…”as Socrates was reported to have said…”an unexamined life in not worth living”. You are examining your life and your judgements and opinions. Continue to do this, but remember to do this in the context of being surrendered, connected, curious and obedient. When you do this, and prioritize surrender before opinions and judgements, you can trust that Jesus will live through you. You can stand on the balcony with an objective view and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you from there. You can live out of this surrender much better than you can live out of your opinions and judgements.”
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