To Judge or To Judge Not

When you feel “judged” what does that look like? When others feel like you have “judged” them – what does that look like? Most likely it looks very different for every person. Most times what appears to be judgmental to one may not be judgmental at all to another. Like so much of the Bible things can be interpreted very differently. Leaves us sometimes in a hard spot either feeling like we’ve been judged or having someone feel like we did it to them.

The truth is a matter of heart. God knows –God knows my thoughts, He knows my heart, He knows that I would never intentionally judge someone.

He also knows I certainly don’t want to be judged and by me I mean us -It happens though, it can happen as easily as a snapped finger. How do we stop the judgement train from plowing through our lives?

Romans 14:1-13 The Weak and the Strong (NIV) Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. 5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’”12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. 13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.

Things I learned over the course of years, you certainly can’t control what others think or feel. What you can control is yourself. As it says in the scripture above - For none of us lives for ourselves alone; If we live, we live for the Lord.

The greatest command is LOVE others as you love yourself. With a love filled heart there isn’t room for judgement. If you want to say something – consider is it (what you want to say) going to lift someone up or tear them down? God does NOT want us tearing down.

I’ve seen since the outbreak of Covid 19 so many things on the news, on social media, in person, at the store, etc… people wearing and not wearing coverings, I’ve seen people wash their hands and not wash, I’ve seen the use of gloves or tools to hold a door or push a button and then I’ve seen bare hands push or hold. I’ve also heard many comments about those who have zero fear of the virus and then those who are extremely worried about getting it and spreading it and everything in between.

So what is the right action? For sure judgement is NOT. To Judge or to Judge Not. In God’s economy it is to Judge NOT.

Dear Heavenly Father, You know my constant prayer from the onset has been to protect us from this virus both physically and financially. I pray every person reading this will be under Your protection. I also pray that each one of them pray the same – protect me, my family, protect my extended family, protect my friends, protect my coworkers, our company. Thank You in advance God for putting the hedge of protection around us. I also ask for the judgement topic, soften the hearts of those who would lash out to others, give them the heart of grace to understand and to honor You with their thoughts, prayers, words and actions. Thank You in advance for Your protection and Your grace. Amen