Don’t Judge Me…..

I’ve written about this many times. When you hear “Don’t judge me”, what exactly does it mean? People in today’s society think it’s not right to judge. They’ve taken a biblical concept and twisted and distorted it into a mindset of false reality. When people use this phrase today, in essence, they are saying “Don’t tell me what to do”. If they are sinning they don’t want to be told it’s wrong. Judgement in the Bible comes from God. It’s the condemnation of sin. Ultimately it’s being punished for unrepentant, sinful behavior during one’s lifetime. I mean the denial of God, and refusal to embrace what Jesus did for us on the cross. In other words, it’s our pride that keeps us from God, and is ultimately judged when we die and stand before God. That kind of judgement is only God’s responsibility, not ours. But society has taken that concept and applied it to all things. “It’s not right to judge” has been transformed from God’s Sovereignty, to all people’s ability to discern right and wrong. Jesus Himself tells us to judge rightly. This means we must use a standard in which determines what’s right from what’s wrong. It’s okay to judge behavior. It’s necessary to judge behavior. Not in the ultimate condemning of Final Judgement, that’s only up to God, but in a “I’m trying to help you avoid the Destruction you’re behavior will bring upon you and others if you don’t stop and realize it” kind of way. We make judgements every day. Make sure you understand this truth. So the next time you here “Don’t judge”, you don’t retreat and allow the person to think their behavior is okay. Some times it takes a difficult criticism in order for a person to “get it”. Love always does the hard things. It always gives us a choice. It always warns. If you truly love someone, you’ll love them enough to speak truth into their lives. And sometimes that means confronting their sinful behavior, if they like it or not. Didn’t Jesus mention something about that when He talked about cutting off your hand and gouging out an eye in order to go to Heaven? Using truth standards to assess one’s behavior is not only correct and smart, but it’s also necessary in the realm of godly, biblical living. Don’t discount it, even if it means standing alone. God will always be right by your side when you honor Him by speaking truth in love. I’d rather be judged by a human being over a simple behavior, then stand before the Almighty and not be able to defend myself for a lifetime of bad behavior. Go ahead and “judge me”, it’s okay, for my concern is focused on behaving in such a way that pleases God, not by the methods or standards in which the world judges.

I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you–something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother. 2 You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame. And you should remove this man from your fellowship.3 Even though I am not with you in person, I am with you in the Spirit. And as though I were there, I have already passed judgment on this man 4 in the name of the Lord Jesus. You must call a meeting of the church. I will be present with you in spirit, and so will the power of our Lord Jesus. 5 Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns. 1 Corinthians 5:1-5

11 Timely advice is lovely,like golden apples in a silver basket. 12 To one who listens, valid criticismis like a gold earring or other gold jewelry. Proverbs 25:11-12

9 So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please Him. 10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. 2 Corinthians 5:9-10