"Let God be the Judge"

We are all guilty of poking fun, we did it as kids, we laughed at those who did goofy things, and we mocked people. Especially as teenagers, it was "cool" to try to "fit in" with the in crowd and make fun of others, but what were we doing to ourselves?

How are we living our lives today, as Christians being accepting of all, bringing all closer to Christ? How are we modeling good Christian attitudes to our children when we speak about other people? How are we helping those that have not found the gift, find God and see His amazing beauty? How are we being kind even to those that treat us harsh, realizing there may be something wrong?

This is an area where I tend to struggle with not as frequently as some others, but I do have issues where I tend to judge. Most of the time I am unaware that I am passing judgment and realize later and make amends, but it's those times I don't realize what I am doing that really sets the mark for who I am as a person.

Matthew 7:1-5

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

"A young girl was working at a grocery store and was obviously having a very bad day; she was rude and grumpy to everyone. She didn't say hello, she just kept moving on from one person to the next and it really posed a tense environment. A preacher in line noticed that she was struggling really bad and just knew that something was bothering this young girl. As he moved closer up the line he could tell she was extremely hostile and tense. When it was his turn to check out, he leaned in towards the register and said, "I have noticed you are rather tense and everyone seems to be giving you a really hard time, but I want you to know whatever it is that you are going through, it's going to be okay, God loves you." She immediately burst into tears, and told the preacher that her baby was in the hospital, her husband had just gotten laid off and she didn't know how they were going to make ends meet. The preacher hugged the young cashier and prayed for her. The man behind the preacher owned a construction company and gave the cashier a card to give her husband for a job. The lady behind him was a doctor at the same hospital the baby was at and promised to leave right then and personally go check on her baby. The cashier looked as though a load had been lifted from her shoulders."

It took one moment of selfless influence to turn this young ladies focus around. It would have been really easy to judge her as being a mean person and go to her manager stating how rude she was. By taking the time to get to her level and see what was truly going on made a world of difference. Taking five minutes to say "are you okay, is everything okay, God loves you," could make or break a person. People need people; we need that comfort and connection between others to help build us up when we are broken. We also need God's loving arms around us.

Ephesians 4:29

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

I have a rule that I practice at home with my daughter, because girls tend to be a little more open in the gossip area which I believe is a fancy word for judging. So I have this rule that when she talks about another child typically a kid she goes to school with I make her write a letter to that child and apologize. She doesn't have to go into details about what she said for that would only make a child feel bad about themselves, but just a simple apology for saying something unkind. I believe it builds character in my daughter to recognize that she is no better than that child. She may be loved more by me because she is my daughter, but in Gods eyes we are all created equal.

Matthew 7:1

"Judge not, that you be not judged.

How many times have you said something about someone, or talked to someone rudely, or judged them as to why they were late for something? I have a million times and how many times did they tell you the reason and you literally felt like falling on the ground or running to hide. Some people do not wear their troubles on their sleeves. I have no problem letting a complete stranger know through my emotions that something is wrong with me. My love language is words of affirmation so I love knowing someone thinks I am great, and gives me words to build me up, but for some that's not the case. You would be very surprised if some of the more low toned people would actually open up and tell you what was bothering them. It might shock you to actually think they are able to carry such a heavy load. Some people do not know that God will take that load from them and give them a break, some people think they have to keep everything bottled up inside. Don't judge them without even attempting to try on their shoe much less walk in it.

I will tell you I am judged daily, by family, by creditors you name it. I can tell you that having a husband with a heart condition brings in a hefty amount of medical bills, more than I can even describe to you. I will tell you my husband is worth over a million dollars, thank goodness for insurance. Here is my point, during Christmas my family was struggling to come up with the funds to provide Santa to our children. Robbie had just had another heart surgery in October, he was on limited duty and we were barely making it. I prayed about it and God answered my prayers, I was given a cash gift from a friend, a card with money from some women at work, my kid's school helped out, and a bonus helped me to be able to provide. I was judged big time by family. I saw on Facebook, hateful comments posted about me saying I prayed for things I needed, but had the money all the time to buy them. I was called a hypocrite, a user, you name it. Those "so called" family members made a mockery of my life and what I was currently going through with my husband. His heart condition, the struggles that he was facing were not important to them, making fun of us was. They didn't take the time to ask me about these things, they just assumed that because I could afford Christmas I was really doing fine and didn't need the prayers about finances. See they judged me and my family based on the way the box looked on the outside, when in reality if they had taken the time to open the box they would have seen a crying family, weeping with sorrow for my husband's heart, our sadness. They didn't do that and instead they stomped all over us and made things more difficult for us. Don't make things more difficult for someone by judging them. They already have enough on their plate and even if you don't have the courage to stop and pray for them or ask them if they are okay, be strong enough to resist speaking harm about them. I can tell you this; I would gladly slip off my shoes and let any family member walk in them. Being married to a man that is only 31 and has a heart condition and requires a pace maker and defibrillator to stay alive, is not an easy task. Every moment is a miracle; every moment we share with him is a blessing from God. It takes a strong and courageous family to step out of the "oh woes me" valley and rise to the mountain tops thanking God for the heart attack. If the heart attack had not occurred 5 years ago, my husband would not be here today. That heart attack, as terrible as it was and as scary, was a complete eye opener to my husband's heart disease.

1 Corinthians 13:1-8

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ...

You have two choices that you can make today with regards to judging someone:

1. Judge others harshly and then be judged harshly yourself.
   
2. Judge with mercy and then be judge mercifully.
   

Whatever you do to others, will be done to you. The way you portray yourself to others will be the exact way others portray you. Whatever seeds you sow today, will be the seeds you reap tomorrow. Don't judge harshly. Let God be the judge in your life. God created us all, he loves us all and he judges us all accordingly. Don't step on God's toes to judge someone. That's making one statement to God that you are man enough to handle all that comes your way without the help from God and I am sorry, but there is NOT one person strong enough to go through life without the healing & helping power of Jesus Christ, AMEN!! You may think you are a sissy (I have heard it called) to walk with Jesus, well so be it. I am Kylie "SISSY" Davis and I am proud to be that way. I am not full of so much pride that I cannot stop, kneel when needed and pray. God does a lot for you and me every single day, we owe him the respect to live the life he directs us to live and keep our mouths from speaking unkind, non-uplifting words about our sisters and brothers in Christ.

Psalm 1:1-6

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; ...

 

Do you remember when Jesus had brought before him a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery? (If not, you can read about it in the Gospel of John, chapter 8.) The ones who brought her reminded Jesus that the Old Testament Law said an adulterer should be stoned to death and asked what should be done.

Their motives weren't right, as evidenced by the fact that they didn't bring the man in as well. It was a trick aimed at finding some fault in Jesus. Jesus' response was to go ahead and stone her, but the first stone had to be thrown by the person who had no sin. After that, they could all join in. Jesus knew what the result would be. There was no one without sin, so there was no one to throw the first stone.

Actually, there was one person there who was qualified to throw the first rock, and he chose not to.

Jesus is saying here, "Before you put time and effort into somebody else's life, put time and effort into your own."

 

Keep your eyes focused on what is true and just, Jesus Christ. Before you attempt to jump into a conversation of judgers, make sure you well equipped to say to them:

If we make judgments based on condemnation, then we are not acting as followers of Jesus. The Bible makes it really clear that only God has the authority to condemn. I don't. You don't. So don't.

Take the time to stop and ask a person that is having a bad day "is everything okay." You may be the turning point they need to make the rest of their day a success. Don't dig into the whole peer pressure click of unhappiness, they only spread rumors and lies because they are either jealous or have issues themselves. Don't treat someone who tends to look less than you do any different than you would your very best friend. You NEVER know what their issues are, what their home life is like, where they have walked and what is going on in their lives. Be an example of Gods amazing, never wavering, unconditional, always appreciating, grace giving, love.

Live a life that is pleasing to God and as the old saying goes that you heard a million times as a child, "If you do NOT have anything nice to say to or about something then DO NOT say anything at all."

You wouldn't get up in the morning, get showered, dress nice and go out and sit in a pile of mud, so don't let dirty things come out of your mouth that disrespects not only your true character, but the reputation of God our Father. Show others your God, the happiness, the fullness, the sinless life he stood for. You never know, the image you portray might be an image someone wants, and when they ask you why you are so happy, you have every reason to say,

"My God makes me happy!!!"

In all things, great and small, God loves us all,

Kylie Davis