'Judge not, that you be not judged’, perhaps you have heard. 1
Wise counsel indeed
from God’s Bible book!
But by crafty
devils, could we all have been snookered?
To understand this
point, let’s take a fresh look.
'Judge not, that you be not judged’, what does it really mean?
If you’re like me,
and I’m like you, we don’t want to be judged.
From
misunderstanding this point, how can we be weaned?
Toward the right understanding, by this poem you’ll
be nudged.
From a peek in your
dictionary, you’ll see more than four,
Different definitions
of ‘judge’, the action verb:
Guesstimate,
opinionate, pass sentence, and so much more!
It’s no wonder, the
notion of judging can perturb.
Out of context, about
judging this verse seems to be.
Taking Bible verses
out of context, we seem to have a knack.
Read in context, we
see it’s about hypocrisy!
See how we make it
easy for our understanding to be hacked? 2
Devils would love
and clearly benefit,
If our
understanding of judging becomes blurred.
For then, to judge,
we would never be quick,
And we’d simply
agree with things …devils preferred.
Life, in general,
and Christ, in particular, need us to judge. 3
Life demands us to
act on opinions justly formed.
Christ demands us
to know ‘rightness’,
and against evil not to budge.
He requires to His righteousness, we first
be conformed.
As we progress on
meeting His rightness prerequisite,
He will orchestrate
opportunities to test our beliefs, 4
To see if, for
rightness, we’ll stand, or against it …pivot.
Our responses to
these tests will shape our life’s motifs.
But if on His
prerequisite, you still have much work to do,
By all means, this
you will feel, and must recognize:
In Christ, my
Friend, you’re still a babe. Don’t be a
judging yahoo!
Keep feeding. Grow
up in Him, til you become wise. 5
If you shun tests
to judge right-from-wrong, and good-from-evil,
Because of the ‘I am not here to judge’ notion,
Ask yourself this: On Christ’s rightness, am I being fickle?
Have I drank too much of the world’s ‘don’t
judge’ potion??
‘Tolerate me and whatever I do!’ That is what we hear,
From all across our
world of fast decaying righteousness.
Tolerance is now
the ultimate social virtue, that’s clear.
But what happens if
the righteous lose their judging aptness?
About judging,
there is one clear thing that is off
limits,
Though to do it,
you will surely be so attracted!
While judging external
words and actions are fair game,
Judging unseen
motivations should be avoided. 6
If in Christ’s Grace
and righteousness, you profess to walk,
Then judging within His family, you are called to do.
Judging outsiders
is His job. Don’t make it your talk. 7
Don’t cop-out of
your job, and thus …fail brethren in the
pew!
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1 Matthew 7:1
2 Matthew 7:5
3 --Do not judge
by appearance [superficially and
arrogantly], but judge fairly and righteously. (John 7:24)
--Or do you not know that The Lord’s people
will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world,
are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we
will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! I say this
to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough
to judge a dispute between believers? (1 Corinthians 6:2-3,5)
--For if we would judge ourselves,
we would not be judged. (1
Corinthians 11:31-32)
-- I say this to your shame. Is it so, that
there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between
his brethren? (1 Corinthians 5:6) NB: Judging fairly and righteously requires Godly discernment. Study/ponder the differences/relationship between judging and discerning. Also see point #10 in Top 10 Reasons for Crises - Part 4
4 Jeremiah 17:10
5 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man,
whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you
condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. (Romans 2:1-3, written to immature believers
- babes in Christ not yet spiritually qualified/competent to judge)
6 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.
(1 Corinthians 4:5)
Amen, what an awesome poem on judging. Man of God, you always declare the clearness of God’s Word. What a great poem.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you.
My, my, what a challenging topic to address, in a poem no less! Thanks for taking time to read and to share your comment.
ReplyDeleteIn Christian circles, this is likely a widely misunderstood topic, probably because the way we are taught, our general unfamiliarity with the Scriptures, and our human knack for taking verses out of their intended context. I hope you will read the article referenced in footnote #2.