avoid decisions
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; and condemn not, and you will not be judged; forgive, and you will be forgiven.” -Luke 6:37
Have you ever felt that you have been judged? It’s not the best feeling. Sometimes, even with the best intentions, we fail to be Christlike in this area. We think we have the right to proclaim God’s justice to the world and other believers. The world already judges Christians – but we need to be known for the love, healing, and grace of Jesus Christ. how sad!
Mother Teresa once said, “If you judge people, you don’t have time to love them.” The even more dangerous part of this is that if we are not careful we set ourselves up for judgment – the enemy has legal authority over us if we have judged others. Once we make these types of accusations, even in our minds we are left open to attack. It has been found that there are holes in our spiritual armor.
“Or do you despise the riches of His kindness, forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” -Romans 2:4
When we are tempted to judge, we must go to a place of prayer and blessing. When we are tempted to rant about a point of disagreement, we should instead look for points of encouragement. Encouragement promotes possibility and potential, while judgment finds a place for wrongdoing and shame. In a culture that is filled with fear and shame, the decision often focuses us on “not messing up” versus the new opportunity to start again in Jesus. “But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it’ll spend its whole life thinking it’s stupid.” -Albert Einstein
The Bible says that people are attracted by God’s goodness. (Romans 2:4) Are there any judgments in your heart that might keep you from spreading the goodness of His gospel? This is often the biggest hindrance to God using us – judgment against unbelievers, ourselves or other believers. We are all guilty of judgment – but when we do, are we able to see it and repent? I pray that we will all be sensitive to judgment so that God can use each of us mightily in His kingdom.
