No Judge No No No

God is our only judge. Who are we servants to judge another servant? Sometimes, being a Christian for so many years may influence our perspective toward other believers as well as the non-believers.

"Why is he doing this? What's the motive? Is she a Christian or "Christian"? Why would he keep falling into the same sin over and over again? How could he cheat on his business partner? They call themselves Christian??"

It's really easy to fall into this judgmental mode and become cynical to those Christians who we think are not "Godly" enough. We are, afterall, human beings created with mental capability to think and make evaluations. Naturally, we react on things happening around us. We build opinions. We observe, and we respond.

But then again, the apostle Paul strictly advises us to go against our natural desire to judge people. We are not the judge - God is. He is the One and Only one who's allowed to give that final judgment on a person's heart and true intention.

So hey, the next time you see something weird happening in the church (or anywhere else) and you feel the urge to judge the situation, stop! Take a pause. Halt your chain of thoughts and most importantly stop that urge to talk your thoughts out. Don't just say things out without necessary reasons, specially when you know what you're going to say is not building others up or encouraging people.

Bottom line: Do not judge.

God bless :)

1 Corinthians 4:1-5 (NLT)

So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries. Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful. As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.

So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.

(NIV)

This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

(The Message)

Don't imagine us leaders to be something we aren't. We are servants of Christ, not his masters. We are guides into God's most sublime secrets, not security guards posted to protect them. The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don't even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. I'm not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn't mean much. The Master makes that judgment.

So don't get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of—inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the "Well done!" of God.