People Judging People For Judging People

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Catey Stover in Freedom Fighters

“Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.” Galatians 6:4-5 (NLT)

 

Bet ya today’s title caught your attention. Perhaps you’ve done the eye roll and muttered “Oh brother, wonder which one wrote this”. Maybe you’ve just scrolled down to the bottom, have seen it’s me, said “That figures” and have decided, “Adios Amigo”. To you “I bid a sweet adieu” but for the rest of you stickin’ around I ask for your permission to metaphorically kick you in the teeth. Yeah, maybe that doesn’t sound very Christlike, but today’s Freedom Fighter is being written as a reminder to myself and I thought I’d shared this with you. Why? Because I am so very guilty of displaying the very title that I swiped off of social media.

 

Every so often I catch this ugly virus. Now it may not be as popular as the COVID-19 is today but this virus can be just as deadly to the human condition. It’s the virus of self-exaltation and it’s been around a lot longer and it has deeper roots. Maybe you’re familiar with this passage, “I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.” Or perhaps, “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” Eventually, once these mindsets have set in this passage comes to life, “all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” Sad but true!

 

In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus will take on the virus of self-exaltation and flip the script on many who thought themselves in right standing. There’s a Pharisee and a tax collector in the Temple, praying. Of course, the Pharisee prays in a way that seems to say to God that “I am so glad you didn’t create me like those other people. I mean, look at them…filthy, double-minded sinners.” Sounds like he just told Elohim He makes filthy, double-minded sinners. But then there’s the tax collector, who dares not lift his eyes to heaven, and he seems to pray in a way that says to God, “Forgive me for I have fallen short and need Your mercy”. The red letters go on to say…

 

“I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:14)

 

One of the things I tend to forget is I got moments where I am a filthy, double-minded sinner and when it happens it’s so very subtle. And the funny thing that attaches itself to the moment is the part where I go, “Well those people just don’t know Jesus” and I leave it there. You would think that for everything that God has blessed me with and for every time He has shown me mercy, I would remember this basic principle, “Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. BUT—” (Titus 3:3) I implore you to read the rest of this very important passage.

 

So, if you catch yourself judging people for judging people, stop, take a moment to test your own work, and evaluate your own obedience. Measure your work against God’s standard, not against the moral failure of others, that’s even if it’s a failure at all. If iron sharpens iron then the best way to handle something is to confront it. This is where I, myself, need the most work. Hiding behind a qwerty board will not be an option when you stand before The Throne of God and asked, “What did you do with the talent I gave you? What did you do for My Son?”

 

We’re in a moment in time where it has become very easy to get caught up in all the brouhaha and cast judgment or two on those who demonstrate waywardness. I’m sorry to be the one to break this to us all, but we’re not as holy as we think. If we’re judging folks from a place of pseudo-moral superiority maybe we should yank the plank from our own eye first. Chances are others wanna do it to you anyway.

 

Remember you aren’t righteous because your neighbor isn’t and not committing the sins your neighbor does is no way to impress God. No one will make your load lighter by being worse than you are. Take that one to heart!! Amen?

 

Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) has been married for 25+ years (Kathy), has a married son (Kevin) and a daughter in college (Karen). He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008. You can email him at cphughes515@verizon.net

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Think About This: “The problem with these people is not a theological denial of the cross of Christ, but an ethical divergence from the way of the cross of Christ.” — G. Walter Hansen

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalms 103-107| You can download our 2020 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here. 

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: ¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go ^[c]therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” ^[d]Amen. –Matthew 28:18-20

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the doctrinal and theological views held by America’s Keswick.