Judge... NOT!

"Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.  For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get."

(Matthew 7:1-2)

We all do it.  We may not admit it openly to others.  But we do it nonetheless.  We pass judgment on people.  We do!  Sometimes we do it at first glance - how someone looks becomes the basis of our opinion of them.  Sometimes we see a single action (or series of actions) and we assume we "know them" & judge them accordingly.  We do this especially when we've been hurt.

There's a song by Sawyer Brown called "THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND."  It begins with a woman on a bus with rowdy kids... and everyone looking at her & commenting how she can't control them.  She asks for forgiveness for them... for they've been up all night.  Their daddy died.  Please forgive them.  Verse 2 centers around an old man driving slowly on the interstate.  Other drivers are staring at him, honking their hons & yelling out the window at him.  He asks for forgiveness... saying his wife has died & his kids don't visit anymore... so it's hard for him to get around on his own.  "Please forgive me."

The chorus says this:

(They don't understand)
Everybody's busy with their own situation
Everybody's lost in their own little world
Bottled up, hurry it up trying to make a dream come true
(They don't understand)
Everybody's living like there ain't no tomorrow
Maybe we should stop and take a little time
Cause you never really know what your neighbor's going through
(They don't understand)

And then there's the final verse...

A man hanging on a wooden cross
Giving everything to save the lost
Everybody's starin' not knowin' what he's going through
Somebody said you don't have a prayer
If you were king, come down from there
The man just turned his head looked up and stared
He said, "Please forgive them
For they have not seen the light
They'll come to know me when I come back to life
Go to heaven, to make everything all right
So please forgive your children"

PRAYER: Lord, I know I've got issues in my life that need your forgiveness.  Help me not to judge others, but instead love them, be patient with them, and give them the benefit of the doubt... just as you've done countless times for me.  AMEN.

Bearing With One Another

[From 8/10/09]

"I... beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

(Ephesians 4:1-3)

Some people can be quite annoying (can I get an "Amen!"?). All of us have various individuals in our lives that just seem to "rub us the wrong way." It happens to the best of us (heck, WE may even be 'the annoying one' to a few others!).

In the 4th chapter of Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus, we are encouraged to exercise patience, humility & gentleness as we "bear with one another in love." It's easy to get "frustrated with one another"... or "ticked off at one another"... heck, I've even gotten "royally peeved at one another" from time to time. It happens. But God calls us to something greater. God calls us to not take things so personal. To have grace for others - especially those we encounter frequently (our families, our co-workers, our church!).

[NOTE: Of course this does NOT mean we should put up with abuse. Never! I'm talking about the more "minor irritations of people.]

Why should we do this? Simply because we're supposed to be more like Jesus? Well... um... no. Jesus got quite upset at certain folks himself, if you remember (moneychangers? Pharisees? Scribes? etc.). The answer lies in verse 3: "to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." One of Jesus' big goals for his followers was UNITY. He knew the power of solidarity. But solidarity has to be worked at... it doesn't come easily.

PRAYER: Lord God, give me patience & grace for others... help me to truly bear with them, whenever I'm irritated and annoyed. Remind me of the infinite patience you have for me! AMEN.