Wednesday, June 13, 2012

We don't judge

Several years ago I had the pleasure of getting to mentor a great group of teenage girls.  They were so much fun, they kept me young, and always had a style tip to share with me. ("Mikel, why are you wearing those 'mom' shoes?")  They taught me so much and I can only hope that I taught them a little something too.  A running gag that developed with this group was the saying, "We don't judge!"  This particular adage became a joke used between us. "You only like movies starring Mandy Moore? It's okay, we don't judge!" "You ate a pan of brownies for breakfast? It's okay, we don't judge!" Ah, I miss those girls...

This week has been another trial for me as once again I hurt my back and have been trying to take it easy.  Yesterday I tried to be productive and was adamant about leaving the house only to reinjure my back to the point I wasn't able to walk without incurring severe pain.  These days where I am frustrated and unable to do what I really want to do lead me to peruse the Internet.  I have come across all sorts of things this week.  Most of them quite disturbing.  There seems to be a lesson that a lot of people have yet to learn so let me drop a knowledge bomb on you.  Wait for it....

Christians can have fun.  There it is. Oh, and Christians can have a sense of humor.  We can enjoy life.  And we can live into the business of Christ without judging others.

 "God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?" James 4:12

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.  For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?  How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?  Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye." Matthew 7:1-5


How often have you seen this sentiment: "that's the problem with Christians, they're all hypocrites!" or "I could never be a part of a church because everyone who goes is so judgemental."


It's a shame that our own witness is keeping other's from discovering the great joy of living in Christ.  It's a terrible shame that our own actions are doing more harm than good.  Why is it so hard for us to just love? We can never hope to bring others into a relationship with Christ without first bringing them into a relationship with ourselves.  And newsflash people, no one wants to be around someone who is a judgemental hypocrite.

That's my rant for the day.  I pray that we can all look into ourselves and become the vessel that God calls us to be.

Blessings my friends!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

So all scripture is profitable (read: able and good to do so) for teaching. Reproof. Correction. How can we correct, teach, rebuke, without some sort of initial judgement on our side?

1 Cor. 5
Paul rebukes the entire church, judging them because God has already judged them.

We are not called to not judge, but rather to judge in the same manner that we will be judged. We cannot judge non-believers, because they are not of the same mind that we as believers are. We are also not called to be more tolerant than Christ. Christ would not tolerate many things in the church today, so why should we? If we actually lived and acted in the ways that we are called to do, immagine the changes that would happen in our lifetime. Being content and not judging each other (or refuting false doctrine) leads to us looking less and less like Christ.

Mikel Bechtold said...

This post was more for judging other's who have yet to know the love of Christ. To judge someone without being in a relationship with that person. We can't even begin to know the true heart of someone we do not know and therefore are in no position to judge them. Now, if your church or people in your church, whom you love and know, are doing something questionable then sure, LOVINGLY go to them and share your concerns. When we take love out of the equation then we are just being judgmental for the sake of being right. That's my belief anyway.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the clarification, it seemed from your initial post that you were not for calling out one another as believers and followers of christ to live more like him.

I wholeheartedly agree that we as Christians should not judge the people who are not christians, because they do not know they are sinning.

Mikel Bechtold said...

No problem, sorry for the confusion. However, in my opinion, using the word "judge" as it's used in our society, isn't something I would say in regards to my Christian brothers and sisters. Instead I choose to say,"I care about you and therefore I will help to hold you accountable." Just my opinion. I'm always up for a good discussion so thanks for your inpute!

Anonymous said...

"Judge not" said Jesus. He also said, "Blessed are the peacemakers." He also said "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul." And he also said, "Love your enemies." "Love your enemies." What does that look like? It looks like this, "Love your enemies." The greatest enemy is the one we look at every day in the mirror every morning when we attempt for one more day to turn our gaze from the ways of the world to a different kind of world, a different kind of being, a different kind of spirituality and a different kind of Christianity and that’s a Christianity that follows Jesus Christ. Not the Christianity that you hear about from pulpits that preach, "Hate the sin and love the sinner." But the kind of Christianity that says, "I came for the sinner and you’re all sinners." The kind of Christianity that says, "We’re the greatest sinners of all." The kind of Christianity that says, "I will never cease to be human but I can look toward God." The kind of Christianity that advises us to "Love our enemy" and "Judge not."

Saw this in something I read today. Thoughts?