Correction and Judgment

Back in 2013, when I started using social media to post my blogs and podcasts, I made a decision that I would be a voice of encouragement and direction.  This meant that I would keep away from talking politics or telling people they were wrong for the things they believed and did.  I confess, I have wondered from this path more than once, but for the most part I have kept to my standard of encouragement.

Lately, I have been annoyed by the remarks I see on social media, especially by those who profess to be Christians.  Their attacks on those who may not see doctrine or worship styles as they do is most upsetting to me.  I decided that I would write an open letter to the Church and blast them for their unkindness and lack of love for their brothers and sisters in Christ.  This is when God stepped in and showed me that I was just like those I was angry at.

In my morning devotional reading I came across a verse I had read a hundred or more times but never really noticed (which is a common experience many of us have).  “Therefore you have no excuse,” reads Romans 2:1, “every one of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same thing.” Ouch!!  Nothing like a hit in the head first thing in the day.  I stand guilty of this very thing.

This was then followed by a powerful statement from one of my favorite authors, Dave Roper, in his book, Out of the Ordinary.  Roper said, “I cannot know what others intend, of what forces and dispositions surge within their hearts.  I cannot know the passions that wage war within their souls or what passions they are resisting.  Only God understands the heart, and His understanding is infinite.”  Double Ouch!

Allow me to make something clear here.  That is the issues of not judging others and offering correction.  Those outside the Christian worldview, and many with that worldview, tend to think that to “not judge” means that you accept what others do and believe.  That is not true.  In spite of the culture we live in, there is right and wrong; good and evil.  We do have a standard to live by and not everything goes.  “Not judging” is my not passing judgment on others for what they do, don’t do or believe.  I can still stand for what is right and good.  I can still offer correction when I see someone going into danger.  But their soul is not mine to judge.  That is for God alone and I will not stand in His place.

What I believe we are called to do is to be the example we expect others to be.  Read on and Romans chapter 2 and you will see a list of offences that people often judge others for but practice themselves.  We are here to show the way by walking in it.  None of us are perfect, I am far from it, but that is the point.  That we can be the best example of all, a sinner saved by grace.

Rather than to attack and mistreat one another we need to be encouraging each other to be the best we can be.  To live a life that sets an example of what it means to be good and right.  It is not a hard or burdensome thing to live right, in fact, it is enjoyable and a life worth pursuing.  Let’s not yell at each other but rather show each other the way.  As Dave Roper also said, “But we never know what heroism lies in quiet obedience to God.”

To discover how you can achieve the dream you have believed was impossible for too long, read On The Journey To Achievement by John Patrick Hickey.  You can get a signed copy for yourself and get one for a friend, by going to http://www.johnpatrickhickey.com/it-is-good-to-set-goals-better-to-achieve-then/.  Now available on Kindle, Oops! Did I Really Post That? Online Etiquette in the Digital Age by John Patrick Hickey.

© 2016 John Patrick Hickey. No part of this may be reprinted or published without permission of the author.