Does it make you feel good to judge others?
You see it all the time. People proclaiming what seems like an obvious moral depravation shown by someone else. There are no lack of individuals or groups that garner our expressed and unexpressed criticism. Virtue via tabloidism, in its efforts to sway the culture is paraded like some bizarre show, entertaining, amusing, and also triggering the masses. Our minds are being carpet-bombed and sometimes that elicits a virtue shout out.
Judging sexual immorality or by people’s color, those may seem like salient differences people can hang their ‘my stool doesn’t stink’ hat on but what is happening on a spiritual level? Is this some pathetic game of one-upsmanship? In reality we are part of the proverbial gutter along with the offenders we so easily see.
All human beings are made in the image of God with intrinsic value given by the Creator, despite our hatred.
We have to know who the real competition is. If we choose for our stellar self standard those who we perceive are the lowest rung in society, we’re in for a big freaking surprise when we must face the truth. We should not think in terms of competition, that suggests some kind of voluntary game where we can pack-up up our bags and head home for the night.
Each of us are engaged in a war, a war for our souls. Our moral state can only be compared to the One who matters most and that is to God. If you do not know what serves as a moral standard, you may start with the Ten Commandments, you could also ready Matthew 5-7 – The Sermon on the Mount.
God is a holy, just and righteous, the King of kings and Lord of lords. He will judge righteously and in the end will judge all.
Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding,
But what is in the heart of fools is made known. – Proverbs 14:33
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. – John 3:17
It sure feels like we were built with an uncanny ability to make judgments on others, but the problem is our judgment is that it is tainted with our sin and fallen nature. By judging others for their moral indiscretions, even what seems like abject moral depravity, how does that place us in our artificially higher standing to gain favor with God?
Could it be, many believe in a God who notices that we’re doing such a great job with your morality and virtue signaling?
Judging others, could be construed as a form of “works righteousness.” This means, one could make himself better because, at least he doesn’t or hasn’t fallen to such a level as that person, or those people. That goes for all people across the spectrum, if you harbor hatred for others, you’re just as much of a closed minded bigot as the next person. If you think you can earn or work to achieve God’s favor, this is not what the Bible teaches and that’s not what Christ taught.
It’s easy to judge ourselves as “good” or “right” when we continue to measure our goodness relative to the worst behavior we can find, even the ones that threaten to destroy the family, perhaps even actively hiding the activity of brainwashing children from their parents – and have the audacity to do it in the public schools.
We must speak out for righteousness sake to protect children and to protect the family..
Christ, who is the ultimate judge, we are called to stand up for His righteousness while at the same time, not to judge others. That may seem like an impossible task until you realize the purposes of God and His Son who died for sinners.
Again, 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. – John 3:17.
Often it seems as though if, as long as you are taking a stand on an issue you are staking a claim on the land of Righteousness. Be careful here.
The surest cure for this sense of self-righteousness is to experience the presence of a holy God, whose holiness makes everyone who ever lived on the extreme other end of the spectrum of holiness, making all of us like the dry leaf in the presence of raging fire.
However, the closest thing many of us may experience in this life to the divine is the acceptance of the Bible being the inspired words from God. Without the Bible, being filled with divine revelation, we would have no clear testimony and reference for what Jesus taught and without Jesus in there is no Way, Truth or Life.
The Bible exhibits several cases when a person is exposed to anything in the proximity of God’s presence, of God’s majesty, that the reactions are nothing less than a complete and immediate capitulation of sense of pride and an extreme awareness of ones sinful state. Even Moses, who God had spoken to “…as a man speaks to his friend” (Exodus 33:11), had to hide in the clefts of some rocks to be near the the fringes of God’s goodness and glorious presence.
Yet this is the same holy God who, through His Son, came in low estate to live among us. He came to exhibit His mercy, compassion, and kindness, to manifest Himself, the invisible Creator God, known to His own creation. It is through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, in essence took upon His sinless self your sin and mine, to become that dry leaf in our stead to face God’s judgment – so that in contrition, faith, and belief is His redeeming work, we can approach God as a child in His royal family, a citizen in HIs glorious eternal kingdom. How much is THAT worth to you? To some of you it means nothing of value. I hope that will change.
Those who believe, all former enemies of God, have been forgiven though His grace.
God’s amazing grace holds the motive force for us to do His good will through personal gratitude and not by duty, obligation or for payback. Believers seek to understand what God’s will is and to receive the “daily bread.”
It becomes a daily effort, to engage in that long and difficult process of resolving the hypocrisy in our behavior. We seek the spiritual essence, instruction, and wisdom needed to serve, to survive and to thrive as servants of the Lord.
“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? – Matthew 7:1-3
Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. – Luke 6:37
Again, 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. – John 3:17
While we are in this life, we will all continue to struggle with sin and temptation as well as the remnants of our self-pride and self-righteousness. Jesus taught, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” – Matthew 9:13.
There is none good but God, meaning there is none righteous by God’s standards except God Himself (which includes Jesus Christ). By “righteous”, Jesus means the “self-righteous” of whom will harbor that sin that resists God’s grace. By sinners, He means those who become contritely self-aware, rather than self-righteous, of the rotting state of being dead in their sin.
The Apostle Paul, expressed Christ’s meaning in many ways including this way. “19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; 20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law;21. to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; 22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you. – 1 Corinthians 9:21-23
In distilling my thoughts on these sayings, I would say that Jesus set out to reach sinners (all of us) in order to save us and to be able to welcome us into God’s family like brothers and sisters. He died for all, in effect, He died for all those would would accept God’s grace and believe in Christ as their Savior. If we as believers are expected to reach out to the lost, we cannot harbor hatred for them. Such hatred inhibits us from willingly setting out or to be open to fulfill God’s will. God’s will is to reach out to the lost sinner, who are still slaves to and dead in sin like we were once ourselves.
For a detailed explanation of who Jesus Christ is from the Bible’s perspective go to the video in this website , “Who is Jesus Christ?”
For a review of the Ten Commandments: https://www.challenyee.com/the-ten-commandments/
CKY
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