Who Am I to Judge?

We are not supposed to judge, we are told. So if we don't judge, isn’t the alternative to accept everything and anything? Yes, I know Jesus said, “Do not judge” (Matthew 7:1), but He was referring to the hypocritical practice of condemning others for what we haven’t judged as wrong in our own lives (verses 2-5). This kind of judging is far different from judging between right and wrong and good and evil. If a religious teacher contradicts biblical truth, we must judge his teaching to be wrong and harmful. If our conduct contradicts our profession to be Jesus’ followers, we must judge that conduct to be sinful and correct it.

The command “not to conform to the pattern of this world” (Romans 12:2) obligates us to judge what worldly thinking is so we can reject it. The command, “Do not love the world” (1 John 2:15), obligates us to judge what is unacceptable and offensive to our heavenly Father. In order to say “’No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions” (Titus 2:12) we must judge right from wrong and good from evil.

If those who misapply Jesus’ command, “Do not judge,” have their way, ultimately we will lose our moral and theological standards. Anything goes might become an attitude embraced by many churches and individuals.

But who am I to judge? For the answer, read 1 Corinthians 5:12, 13; 10:14, 15; 11:31; 1 John 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:21.

How Do You Judge a Person's Importance?

In the corporate world a person’s importance is often measured by the height of his cubicle’s walls. They are taller than those of lesser important employees. In addition, his desk chair will have arms. If he is very important, his cubicle will be more spacious than other cubicles. If he is extremely important, he may have an enclosed office. And he ranks about as high as you can get in a corporation if he has an enclosed corner office.

When God measures a person’s worth, He doesn’t apply corporate criteria. Instead, He considers how low a person stoops to lift the fallen (Gal. 6:1), how far out of his way he goes to help someone in need (Luke 10:33-37), how empty of pride his heart is (Mark 10:42-45; James 4:6-10), and how faithfully he does His will (1 Cor. 4:2).

The Christian who meets God's criteria may never have a cubicle with tall walls or a corner office, but he will enjoy the smile of God’s pleasure forever. To put a little spin on the apostle John’s words: “The world and its prestigious cubicles and offices pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17).

Childhood Games and Toys

While walking in our neighborhood recently, I came upon a chalked hopscotch design. I hadn’t seen one of those in years. Kids in our neighborhood don’t play traditional childhood games. Instead, they ride razor scooters or motorized minibikes. And I’m guessing they know a whole lot more about texting and video games than I will ever know. Their childhood activities are far more sophisticated and costly than mine were, but my childhood wasn’t boring.

I started caddying when I was six. That kept me busy in the summertime. A wooden bench outside the caddy shack received hundreds of pocketknife indentations as another caddy and I straddled the bench and flung our knives into the air and tried to stick them skillfully into the bench. I forget the scoring system, but I remember a score depended on the number of fingers you could place handshake style between the bench and the jackknife’s handle.

Another childhood game at the golf course involved running into nearby woods and hiding when a grouchy golfer arrived in the parking lot. None of us kids wanted the caddy master to choose us to caddy for that golfer.

Ice hockey on frozen streets and ponds provided wintertime outdoor activity, and riding a flat sheet of cardboard down a snowy hill was a popular no-cost way to spend an hour or so.

The neighborhood kids and I also found other ways to amuse ourselves. An empty sewing thread spool, s mall stick, a longer stick, and a rubber band became a moving mouse. A hollowed-out chestnut and a stick became a pipe. We made badges for hats and shirts by removing cork from pop-bottle tops and fastening the cork to the tops through the clothing.

The list could continue, but suffice is to say kids today enjoy sophisticated, expensive toys and games. However, childhood is a fleeting time of life, and when a person becomes an adult he normally abandons childish things. The apostle Paul said he put childish ways behind him when he became a man (1 Cor. 13:11).

Wouldn’t our churches be better off if all of their adult members put their childish ways behind them? Mature Christians don’t go to church to be entertained, but to be edified and to edify (Eph. 4:7-13).

State of the Church

This evening President Obama will deliver his State of the Union address. Some who hear the speech will be glad, Some will be sad. Some will be mad.

If you had to deliver a State of the Church address, how would you describe your church? Here are a few points to consider:

Is your church growing spiritually strong

Is it financially healthy

Is the Bible in the members’ hands and hearts and not simply on a screen?

Does the pastor preach from the Bible or simply find a text in the Bible to hang his ideas on?

Does your church value all ages: kids, teens, young adults, middle adults, and senior adults?

Does your church value single adults and married adults?

Does your church value people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds?

Is the educational program purposeful and alive?

Is your church over programmed, leaving little or no time for family life?

Does your church strongly support missions?

Does your church build strong convictions about the fundamentals of the faith?

What do you see as the main reason people attend your church: good music? Biblical teaching? Social interaction? Other?

How friendly is your church to visitors?

Does your church have a leadership-training program?

Do the members of your church actively share the gospel throughout the week?

Does the congregation sing enthusiastically or mainly listen to the worship team?

Do you think most of your church’s members know why your church exists?

If you delivered your State of the Church Address this coming Sunday, would percentage of the congregation would be glad? sad? mad?

Clutter!

My wife would tell you I’m organized. The top drawer of my desk would tell you I’m not.

In a minute or so I can find a plumber’s bill from 2003 or a phone bill from last year, but it might take an hour to find a paper clip in my desk drawer. Frankly, the drawer might serve as a visual illustration of Gehenna minus the burning. I scanned the top layer of its contents this morning and saw a couple of screwdrivers, a few postage stamps, some breath mints, pens, pencils, business cards, outdated receipts, a Canadian quarter, a few coin wrappers, paper punch, wall hook, address labels, eyeglass case, ruler, nail clipper, electronic address book, pins, lip moisturizer, a gospel tract, a golf bag tag from a Hollywood-by-the Sea course, a golf tee, several photos, a tire pressure gauge, a book of matches, a wall anchor, an eraser, several nails, dental floss, a wrapped piece of candy, a couple of old medical identification cards, and a badge that reads “God Made the Scots a Wee Bit Better.” The badge pictures a boy angel wearing a kilt. Well, if I am one of those better-made Scots, I am certainly not a better-organized Scot. Otherwise, I would not be afraid of getting pricked by a stray pin or two when I reach into my top desk drawer.

Clutter—that’s what defines my desk drawer, and it’s what so many get-organized gurus are telling us to get rid of for a better life in 2011. They might be proud of me; I plan to shred the obsolete medical identification cards in a day or soIn the meantime, it is far more important to clear away the clutter God’s Word identifies as injurious to my spiritual health. Why not search your life, as I search mine, to see whether any of the following traits are listed as clutter to be discarded? Here they are: falsehood, smoldering anger, stealing, idleness, unwholesome talk, bitterness, rage and anger, brawling, slander, malice, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, filthy language, ungodliness, worldly passions, controversies, quarrels, divisiveness, everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles, favoritism, poisonous talk, bitter envy, selfish ambition, and hypocrisy (see Ephesians 4:25-31; Colossians 3:5-8; Titus 2:12; 3:9, 10; Hebrews 12:1; James 2:1; 3:7-10, 13-16; and 1 Peter 2:1).

That’s so much clutter to inspect and clear away that I won’t have time to clean out the top drawer of my desk—at least not today.