Judge Not That You Be Not Judged. Part [1] 03/20/2024 (Evening thought)

Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete it shall be measured to you again.

There are a lot of television shows nowadays which focus our attention squarely on the issue of judging, and apparently the issue has lots of curb appeal, for persons are glued to their TVs, and just cannot seem to get enough of the drama. That’s because human beings like to judge, and persons like to see justice served. This craving for justice has actually spawned a lot of other little judges, in the home, at work, at church, at school, at board meetings, and at the gym, in so much that Planet Fitness was prompted to declare their facilities a “Judgment Free Zone”.

There are times when husbands judge their wives, and often arrive at wrong conclusions and the wives may judge their husbands, wrongfully if things don’t go as expected, or if their gut feeling guides them in one direction. Husbands and wives should be very careful about drawing conclusions, based solely on gut feeling, for many marriages ended up on the rocks, based solely on gut feeling.

Without solid, indisputable proof, we should give the other the benefit of the doubt, even when our gut feelings tug at the heart strings to the contrary. Gut feelings, hunches, premonitions, intuition, and informed guesses, as well as humble opinions are in most cases, not facts, and as such, should be taken with a grain of salt. Humble opinions are just that, humble opinions, for the word opinion refers to a view or judgment formed about something, that is not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

Matthew 7:3 And why do you behold the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but do not consider the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how will you say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!

A Better Devil. [Part [14] 03/19/2024 (Morning thought)

.John 9:40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? 41 Jesus said unto them, If you were blind, you should have no sin: but now you say, We see; therefore your sin remains.

Whenever the you and me in the here and now, know and declare with our own mouths that something is wrong and yet we go ahead and do it anyway, we open the floodgates of trouble upon ourselves, and in the process, we may cause collateral damage to others. Perilous times are just upon us, the fate of nations, and individuals hang in the balance, as they are torn between two lovers, the dear leader on one hand, and the convicting voice of conscience on the other.

Like Joab, some of us would have to weigh the pros and cons of obedience, especially when careers and promotions are at stake. Taking a stand for the right in our day could catapult persons into the arena of ridicule and scorn, and the temptations to buckle under the heavy load could be really unnerving. Yet God is calling on persons in high, and low places to stand your ground by sticking to principle instead of policy. In the process you may actually lose your job, or be excommunicated from the society of your former affiliates.

Yet, it would be much better to do the right thing, rather than the wrong, and thus, be forced into the most unfortunate situation of having to choose the better devil. If the heat of the furnace is too great, if like Joab the political pressure is overwhelming, you could always pray to God for grace, and strength in time of need. We therefore end with a passage of scripture that will encourage one and all to be faithful to God, to truth and duty, even when tremendous pressure is being exerted to the contrary.

Acts 5:27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, 28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that you should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. 29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.     

May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!