Judge Not

Scripture: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:1,2 NIV

Observation: I found an entry in my Contrib section of the on-line bible written by DilaHanim. It is entitled “Judge Not.”
I am sure we have all heard the scripture “Judge not, that ye be not judged”
When I read this scripture I think of those who have made critical judgments about us, directly or indirectly. This type of judging has a spirit of criticism and those individuals that condemn others in this way have no intentions of forgiving or understanding that person. Ephesians 4:29 says “… Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear…” Instead of finding ways to build them up, encourage them, or point them in the right direction… they would rather judge and put them down, when the Word clearly asks us to build up instead of tear down. The Bible also tells us that in the same way we judge others, we will also be judged and standard that we use in judging is the standard by which we will also be judged.. Anyone remember reading a part in the Bible where it asks why we worry about the speck in someone else’s eye when we have a log in our own? Are we not being hypocrites? How about we get rid of the log in our own eye? I think we all forget that one day, we must all be in that judgment seat before God and as 2 Corinthians 5:10 states… “each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil”
Another thing that really grinds my gears is individuals never letting the past be the past. Although I have an issue with this myself when it comes to letting past failures or hurts go… but when it comes to judging others according to their past, truly irritates me. Would you want your past to interfere with your future? So why continue to throw stones at an individual in regards to their past. I have made some great friends in the last several years but if I were to judge them off of the things I have heard about them prior to meeting them, I would of missed out on some awesome friendships. Who am I to condemn someone for a bad decision made in the past. I think everyone has heard of the story of the woman in the Bible who had sinned and people of that town wanted to stone her because that is what the Law of Moses instructed them to do. Jesus responded and asked everyone in the crowd if there is an individual that is without sin, they are allowed to come up and be the first to throw a stone at her. Was she ever stoned? No.. she was forgiven and was told to sin no more.
If our Lord, Jesus Christ can forgive this woman… and forgive you for the sins of your heart… who are you to judge and not forgive others?
With that said, if you have any negative individuals in your life that constantly bring up the past and throw it in your face making it harder to move forward with your life… let those individuals go. You do not need them in your life. Once you have let them know that you have recognized your past mistakes, learned from them, and repented… they do not have the right to continue to bring you down to their miserable level.. Let God deal with those individuals and continue on the path that you were meant to be on! You are not here to please people… you are to please HIM.

Application: Amen

Prayer: Amen Father, Amen!

Doug