Don't Judge me!

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. (Matthew 7:1 NIV)

Don't judge me!

I hear this phrase all the time! Whenever a teacher questions a student, it's judging. Or at least it is in the their eyes. In fact they are right more often than not. People judge other people and many times, unfairly. 

We are not judges!

God has not appointed us to judge the lost, or the faithful for that matter. So why are we so quick to judge people. It happens all the time with bikers. Just because someone rides motorcycles, has tattoos, or has lived a bit of a rough lifestyle, doesn't mean they are not followers of Christ. It happens because of race, ethnic background, and all sorts of areas. Stereotyping is the first step in judging someone and we need to stop it. In order to bring the lost to Jesus we have to stop judging, stop trying to fix people, and stop trying to create "Christian clones". We are all uniquely created by our Father in Heaven and He is the only one that can judge. He is the only one that can look past outward appearance and see the heart. He is the only one that doesn't stumble over stereotypes. 

We need to stop judging and learn more acceptance and love. 

Lying is popular!

 Corinthians 4

 ³ I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. ⁴ My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 

How is your character? This is character counts week at school. I love the Character Counts program. Sometimes it seems like educators are the only ones teaching Character. Every day I see parents and other adults setting a terrible example of character. We found our a parent was having their child sneak them in the back door of the school to get in to athletic contests for free. What is that teaching their child.  The general feelings of society is "It's OK unless you get caught." I see it every day. Not just with students but more often with adults. 

I'm not perfect by any means. I have character flaws like everyone else. But, lying is not one of them. It is common place for America's work force to call in sick even if they aren't sick. It's acceptable to cheat on your taxes. How many marriages end because of a cheating spouse? Honesty is not revered as it once was. In athletics the popular term is  "gamesmanship", not cheating.  If you can get away with breaking the rules by some creative way, people look at you as innovative. I just look at it as cheating!

I don't see how people sleep at night with all the lying and cheating going on. Doesn't it bother their conscience? This is another example how we as Christians are changed. I believe the Holy Spirit is at work through our "Conscience". So many times I feel this inner voice telling me something is wrong. It IS an inner voice. It's the voice of the Lord dwelling within me. I wish I would listen to that voice more. I wish everyone would listen to that voice more. The sad part is Non-Christians don't have that inner voice. They don't have someone telling them what is right. No wonder their is so much dishonesty in this world. The further from Christ we get, the further we get from living an honest life. Is your conscience clear. Are you fearful about being caught or exposed? When we accept the Lord as ruler over our lives, we also give permission for him to convict us of our sins. It is supposed to be uncomfortable to sin. He wants it so uncomfortable that we are forced to change. Lord convict me!

Dear Lord, Forgive me for my dishonesty. Help me to listen to your spirit in my daily life. Guide me in what is right and keep me from evil. Provide me with a clear path so that my life might be pleasing to you. Amen!

God's Play Book!

Romans 3

 ⁹ What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. ¹⁰ As it is written:“There is no one righteous, not even one; ¹¹ there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. ¹² All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”^[b] 

Have you ever met a Christian who thinks they are better than everybody? I have. They act as Judge and Executioner for everyone, even fellow Christians. But, they are the most critical of non-christians. How can we "Go out into all the world..", if we don't get in there and associate with non-christians? And how can we get out into all the world if all we are doing is judging and executing!

We, as Christians, do not have an advantage. We are sinners. "There is no one righteous, not even one." I love it when a "gang" of christians adopts a non-christian and makes them part of the gang. It can be done without judgement, without sacrificing your values. It needs to be done. How else can you build relationships enough to have the opportunity to share Jesus. Are you going to go up to a stranger and convince them of Jesus love? NO. You need to actually share that love. Show them you care with all the sincerity that you have. I have a great Christian coaching staff that has done this time and again. They aren't perfect. But, many of them have brought in outsiders and made them an important part of the staff. Some of them change and some of them don't. But, they keep trying. They keep building those relationships. They keep loving the people they're around and sharing the Love of Jesus through their actions. We should all take a page out of that play book!

Dear Lord, Forgive us for acting as God and judging those who don't know you. Help us to realize we are sinners. Help us to realize we have no advantage except through the grace you have given us. Help us to spend our time building relationships with people and not looking down on anyone. You love all of them and so should we. Amen!