What an interesting group of people we are in the world, in
our country, in our state, in our city, in our community, with our family
members, friends, and with those we have a relationship or interactions
with. By this I mean everyone seems to
have an idea of right and wrong, truth and error, positive and negative and we
all observe others and point out things we don’t see or do see. This may be verbalized, but in some instances
we keep it to ourselves, but we are constantly evaluating and assessing the decisions
and actions of others, especially if we consider ourselves innocent or not
guilty of these judgment calls. We seem
to think or believe that people are capable of acting, behaving, and speaking
better than we observe and hold them accountable for not doing so. I am not sure if we hold ourselves to these
standards, but it is easier to point out things in the lives of others than in
our own lives for some reason.
There are things about out us all that we are should always
strive to change. There are things
about ourselves that we are in the process of changing about ourselves. There
are things that we will be successful changing about ourselves. There are things that we can be successful changing
about ourselves, but are not willing to so.
There are things that we will not be so successful changing about
ourselves. There are also things we have
attempted to change about ourselves, but have decided that we can’t change and
so we have decided to accept that is just the way we are. All of these characteristics are true about
everyone, but we rarely take them into consideration when considering the
actions, words, and behaviors of others.
We expect them to try harder to be the very best person they are capable
(even if they are incapable) of being.
Where they fall short, we believe they should be judged and suffer consequences
even if necessary at our own hands, however, we don’t believe that our own
personal faults, failures, and flaws should be dealt with in this manner.
We demand and insist that everyone else change and we don’t
extend to them the grace, patience, forbearance, and endurance that we have so
generously extended to ourselves and expect from others concerning those things
about ourselves that we don’t like, but have decided to not do anything
about. It would be like deciding no
longer to bath and also decide that we are no longer going to try to clean up
our language - attempting to reduce the use of expletives in our conversations
with others. We realize that these
choices may cause our friends, family, etc. a bit of discomfort, unpleasantness,
etc., but we want them to accept us as we are and extend to us the grace to be
as we have chosen to be. However,
anytime we hear any expletives from others, we openly or secretly judge
them. And also if we notice a fowl or
unpleasant odor coming from someone we judge them for it, look down on,
belittle them, and gossip about them to others. Would this make any sense?
Jesus, in the Bible knew that we all would have a propensity
to do this and encourages us no to be this way.
Mathew 7:1-5: “Do not judge, or you too will
be judged. 2 For in the same way you
judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be
measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in
your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the
speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of
your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your
brother’s eye.
After his death and resurrection, his chief spokesperson
Saul, later Paul (after conversion) shared the same sentiment.
Romans 2:1-4: “You,
therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at
whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who
pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now
we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.
3 So when you, a mere human being, pass
judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s
judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for
the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s
kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”
This same Paul encourages us not to be this
way, but instead:
“Let no foul or polluting
language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk
[ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and
beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and
the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God’s favor) to
those who hear it.”
Romans 12:18, “If possible, as
far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
A contemporary of Paul, Peter shares the same
sentiments as he does.
1 Peter 3:11, “Let him turn away from
wickedness and shun it, and let him do right. Let him search for peace
(harmony; undisturbedness from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts)
and seek it eagerly. [Do not merely desire peaceful relations with God,
with your fellowmen, and with yourself, but pursue, go after them!]”
We should be very careful and cautious prior to judging others
for anything we observe or assume true about them. Judging them does not benefit them or
us. We should instead strive to be the
best that we can be and learn to accept, be patient with, forbear and endure the
weaknesses, preoccupations, limitations, undesirable characteristics of
others. These things or similar things
are also true of us and we expect others to accept us for who we are so we
should strive to do the same for all mankind.
Do we really understand the truth of our condition-all of our
conditions, the conditions of all humans for all times past, present and future?
God, provides to all mankind for all times the truth of all of our conditions
regardless if we believe or feel his assessment of us (personally) is true it
nevertheless remains true.
Genesis 6:5-6:
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the
earth, and that every imagination and intention of all human thinking
was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that He had made man on the
earth, and He was grieved at heart.
One thing to note, this was not God
experiencing a discovery for himself or being shocked than all mankind was more
sinful than he expected them to be. This
was him informing us of our conditions and his response to our sinful
conditions. What other response could
God, the only God who is Holy, Holy, Holy, righteous and just have with regard
to our desperately sinful condition?
This assessment of man is even
re-stated in Romans 1:31-32:
[They were] without understanding, conscienceless and
faithless, heartless and loveless [and] merciless. Though they are fully
aware of God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die,
they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who
practice them.
Why do we ignore, disbelieve,
discount this assessment of ourselves, but believe it is only try of a small
minority of others even if true of anyone?
We actually dare to say to ourselves
(and in some cases to others) – No, GOD you are wrong! This assessment is not true of me. I am basically good and strive to do good and
in most cases am successful doing so. I
see this in myself and also in many others.
None of us choose to not to do good, and we certainly don’t encourage
others to not do good. This is simply
not true.
Romans Chapter 3 has a different
opinion when it comes to doing good and all mankind (even you):
Romans 3:10–18:
As it is written, None is righteous,
just and truthful and upright and conscientious, no, not
one. No one understands [no one intelligently discerns or comprehends];
no one seeks out God. All have turned
aside; together they have gone wrong and have become unprofitable and
worthless; no one does right, not even one!
Their throat is a yawning grave; they use their tongues to deceive (to
mislead and to deal treacherously). The venom of asps is beneath their lips. Their
mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift
to shed blood. Destruction [as it dashes
them to pieces] and misery mark their ways.
And they have no experience of the way of peace [they know nothing about
peace, for a peaceful way they do not even recognize]. There is
no [reverential] fear of God before their eyes.
You still might protest because you
have never been legally proven guilty of any of these behaviors. However, you are not considering your heart –
your desperately wicked, fickle, and unpredictable heart. The heart of man is capable of all manner of
evil it only needs opportunity, justification, and an agreeable situation or
circumstance to manifest to you just how evil and desperately wicked it
is. But if you sincerely and honestly
conduct a self-evaluation, you too will come to accept God’s assessment of
yourself. Try to do good or cease trying
not to do anything.
Again, we should all learn from Paul,
(sincerely think of your own personal experience when reading these
verses. Also, read these verses more
than once and ask yourself the question after reading each verse – “Is this
true of me? “Do I relate or identify with this experience?):
Romans: 7: 15:25:
For I do not understand my own actions [I am
baffled, bewildered]. I do not practice or accomplish what I wish, but I
do the very thing that I loathe [[b]which my
moral instinct condemns]. Now if I do [habitually] what is contrary to my
desire, [that means that] I acknowledge and agree that the Law is good
(morally excellent) and that I take sides with it. However, it is no
longer I who do the deed, but the sin [principle] which is at home in me and
has possession of me. For I know that nothing good dwells
within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot perform
it. [I have the intention and urge to do what is right, but no power to carry
it out.] For I fail to practice the good
deeds I desire to do, but the evil deeds that I do not desire to do are what I
am [ever] doing. Now if I do what I do not desire to do, it is no longer I
doing it [it is not myself that acts], but the sin [principle] which dwells
within me [[c]fixed and
operating in my soul]. So I find it to be a law (rule of
action of my being) that when I want to do what is right and good, evil
is ever present with me and I am subject to its insistent demands. For
I endorse and delight in the Law of God in my inmost self [with my new
nature].But I discern in my bodily members [[d]in the
sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh] a different law (rule of action) at
war against the law of my mind (my reason) and making me a prisoner to the law
of sin that dwells in my bodily organs [[e]in the
sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh]. O unhappy and pitiable and
wretched man that I am! Who will release and deliver me from [the
shackles of] this body of death? O thank
God! [He will!] through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One) our Lord! So then
indeed I, of myself with the mind and heart, serve the Law of God, but
with the flesh the law of sin.
What if at birth we are all clothed with a beautiful, perfect,
spotless white garment and instructed to keep it clean from our Maker. However during the course of our lives we
find ourselves in a pool of mud and filth that has changed our white garment to
a shade of brown or black…definitely no longer white. We look around and see
many in fact all others in the same predicament - wading, swimming, or floating
in this pool of filth. What would you be preoccupied with doing in regard to
yourself and in your relationships and interactions with others? Would
you attempt to remove the filth from your garment? Remove the filth from the
garment of others? Accept the hopeless of your predicament and choose to make
the best of your time in the pool of filth? Regardless of your answer to these
questions, would you judge others for the filth on their garments and insist
that they try harder to restore their garments to the original condition of
pure, perfect whiteness?
Why are we so prone to give ourselves the liberty and grace to
be anyway we desire to be, but expect others to always strive to be who we thing
they should be (and are definitely capable of being)?
We all are or are not who we are by the grace of God. No one is capable of doing anything apart
from the gracious bestowal of the grace and provision of God and God
alone. In and of ourselves we are
incapable of doing anything that God requires and expect from us. This fact can be clearly seen from the
following passage of scripture – a conversation between proud, Peter and Jesus
Christ:
Mark 14:27:30
And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away this
night [that is, you will be caused to stumble and will begin to distrust
and desert Me], for it stands written, I will strike the Shepherd, and the
sheep will be scattered. But
after I am raised [to life], I will go before you into Galilee.” But
Peter said to Him, Even if they all fall away and are caused to stumble and
distrust and desert You, yet I will not [do so]! And Jesus said to him, Truly I tell you, this
very night, before a cock crows twice, you will utterly deny Me [disclaiming
all connection with Me] three times.
You can clearly see Peter’s
presumption of what he is capable of doing.
It is true that Peter had a strong desire not to betray Jesus, but no
ability in and of himself to do so.
Jesus wanted to let him know this truth about himself. We often say there are certain things that
we could never do or would never do, but the truth is we are capable of doing
anything regardless of our desire or assumed resolve not to. This is due, once again to our desperately
wicked, unpredictable and fickle heart.
God is pleased with us when we acknowledge our true condition instead of
assuming something about us that is not true or taking credit for something that
only God can do in us by his grace and for his purposes and sole glory. Considering the following passage of
scripture, which person do you identify with the most?
Luke 18:9-15:
He also told this parable to some people who trusted in
themselves and were confident that they were righteous [that they were
upright and in right standing with God] and scorned and made nothing of
all the rest of men: Two men went up into the temple to pray, the
one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee [j]took his
stand ostentatiously and began to pray thus before and with himself:
God, I thank You that I am not like the rest of men—extortioners (robbers),
swindlers [unrighteous in heart and life], adulterers—or even like this tax
collector here. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I gain. But
the tax collector, [merely] standing at a distance, would not even lift up his
eyes to heaven, but kept striking his breast, saying, O God, be favorable (be
gracious, be merciful) to me, the [k]especially
wicked sinner that I am! I tell you, this man went down to his
home justified (forgiven and made upright and in right standing with God),
rather than the other man; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but
he who humbles himself will be exalted.
You can clearly see that God is more
interested in us acknowledge our inadequacies instead of proudly proclaiming
our assumed abilities. Since we realize
that the only things we can offer to God are our inadequacies, why do we expect
others to be capable of doing things or not doing things in and of themselves
and feel we can judge them or point out these character flaws to them and
others? We should extend to them the
same grace that we so richly extend to ourselves and God has made available to
everyone. Therefore know that when you
judge others you are actually informing God that apart from his grace that you
are capable of keeping yourself free of those things that you accuse and judge
others for and presently stand innocent in his sight and continue in this
condition of innocence for all time in the future. This is hypocrisy, pride, and arrogance in
technical-color. When we witness or experience the failures, flaws, frailties
of others we should only extend to them grace and not judge knowing that we too
in the eyes of God are equally guilty and worthy of God’s judgment. Instead of judging others we should pray for
them (that God richly bestows his grace towards them and grants them the power
to overcome or obtain victory over their particular issues(s)), be patient with
them, forebear with them as we would expect their response would be towards us
consider our own failures, flaws and frailties.
Thanks for your time.. God Bless
You, Grant his Grace to you reveal His Love for and to you and give you peace…
