Pigs and Pearls - Jesus' Colorful Warning

Introduction
We’ve been working our way through Jesus Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7. His sermon is a precious treasure filled with wisdom and truth.  So far, we’ve covered 16 topics.  Each one is like a precious pearl in a beautiful necklace.  I encourage you to go back and study them.  Treasure these teachings for their priceless wisdom.  Incorporate them into your heart and live their principles in everything you do.

Today, we will look at one single verse; three short sentences from Matthew 7:6.

Matthew 7:6
⁶ “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.

Pigs are Unclean
Jesus says not to throw your pearls to pigs.  For Jews in the 1^st century, pigs represented ungodliness.  Their idea was rooted in thousands of years of religious and cultural practices outlined in the Hebrew Bible. Leviticus forbids Jews from eating.  Pigs were a symbol of impurity.  I love bacon, ham, and pork chops.  But for the Jews in Jesus’ day, the thought of eating these was as revolting as eating a dog or a horse might be for us today.

In 167 BC, the King of Syria captured Jerusalem.  And as a way to assault Jewish culture, they desecrated the Temple by sacrificing a pig to Zeus on the sacred altar.  This was a sacrilege that horrified Jews and was remembered right down to the time of Christ.  It was still at the forefront of everyone’s mind when Jesus said, “Don’t throw your pearls to pigs!”

Pigs represent those who may disrespect, reject, or abuse sacred truths.  And the pearls in Jesus’ metaphor represent the sacred truths of God’s Kingdom.

Pearls are Precious
Pearls were highly valued treasures in ancient times, just as today.  These rare, naturally formed jewels were traded all around the ancient world and symbolize purity, beauty, and wealth.  Whether or not you love bacon, it’s easy to understand the literal meaning of Jesus’ warning: “Don’t to throw your pearls to pigs!”

But what are the pearls in your life?  What are those things that are precious and sacred to you?  Things that you want to be protected, preserved, handled with great care, and honored?  The first thing that comes to my mind is my wife and children.  They are precious to me.  I don’t want any harm to come to them—especially from callous, careless behavior or people who would disrespect or reject them.  I know you feel the same way about people you love.  You wouldn’t want anyone to mistreat them.

But Jesus has some specific things in mind when He says, “Don’t throw your pearls to pigs!”  He’s talking about His teachings.  These are the most precious pearls of all.  These pearls are priceless because they have the ability to transform your whole life.  Not only can they transform your life, but they have the potential to transform your family too.  They can set you free from sin.  They can fill you with joy and an abundant life.  They can help you live in harmony with God and people.  They offer you eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven!  They are absolutely precious and sacred!  And Jesus says, “Don’t throw your pearls to pigs!”

Who (or What) are the Pigs?
Well then, we need to know who the pigs are.
Pigs represent those who may disrespect, reject, or abuse our sacred truths.  But who are they?
This is something that takes wisdom and discernment. 

As I’ve prayed about it this week, I’ve been hearing this:  the pigs are not people.  The Jews of Jesus’ day believed the pigs were the Gentiles—people who weren’t Jews, who weren’t  circumcised, who didn’t follow the Laws of the Hebrew Bible.  The Romans were pigs!  But that’s not what Jesus believed.  He believed God loved all people—both Jews & Gentiles.

On the other hand, the Romans thought the Jews were pigs.  They were weak, untrustworthy, backwards, uneducated, uncivilized, and ungrateful.  The Romans saw the Jews as a people who would not get with the program and come into the modern, global order the Romans were trying to establish.  To the Romans, the Jews were pigs!  But that’s not what Jesus believed.  Jesus believed God loved all people—both Jews & Gentiles.  And all people bear God’s image—an image that is a pearl in an of itself.  People are not the pigs.  People are precious.

You may know some people who seem more like pigs than people to you.  Maybe they look different and act different.  Maybe you don't understand the things they do.  Maybe their attitudes or behavior it makes you really angry.  Maybe they even seem more like animals or even monsters.  Surely they are pigs, right?  People are not pigs.  People are precious.

But sometime people are overcome with evil, selfish desires that push us down into the mud.  The real pig is the Sin that makes people reject God and seek their own sinful, selfish ambitions.  All people bear the image of God.  All people are of sacred worth.  But not all people are ready to receive the precious pearls of Christ’s Truth because the “pigs” of evil are still running rampant in their hearts.

This is a hard Truth for us to accept because we want to stand in judgement of some people.  We want to say, “There are just some people who are pigs.  They are irredeemably bad.”  But then we remember Jesus words just one verse before in Matthew 7:5 that says, “Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”

It is not for us to judge whether a person is good or bad.  Only God can judge.  Yet, we do need to be careful.  We don’t want to throw our pearls to pigs.  It's not about labeling people but discerning attitudes and receptivity to spiritual teachings.

Prudence and Patience
Be prudent and patient.  You wouldn’t let a dog wear your great grandmother’s pearl necklace (or a 2-year-old for that matter).  They couldn’t appreciate the preciousness of those pearls and they wouldn’t respect and care for them properly.  It’s not that your dog (or your child) is bad; they’re just not capable or ready for the responsibility.  It wouldn’t be appropriate at this time.

The same may be true when it comes to the precious pearls of Jesus’ truth.  Someone may not be ready for it.  You can’t just go throwing your pearls at them willy-nilly.  The pigs may trample them in the mud and even turn to attack you!

Remember, Jesus’ first step was to call people to repentance.  “Repent for the Kingdom of God is near!”
Until people repent and turn to Jesus, they’re not be ready for the precious pearls He offers.  Jesus offers forgiveness to everyone, but first they must repent.

Pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance when discerning interactions with others.  Ask for wisdom and insight to understand their spiritual needs and the readiness of individuals.  God will show you if and when it is time to share your pearls with someone.  Until then, be patient and be careful. 

While you wait, you can lead by example.  You must!  Demonstrate Christ’s teachings through your actions. Let your life be a testimony to the transformative power of the gospel.  Sometimes, actions speak louder than words and can influence others positively.  And pray for people the whole time.  Pray that God will prepare them to be ready when the time is right.  Pray that you will be ready to speak when the time is right.

Don’t be discouraged if someone doesn’t respond right away.  Keep praying!  Some may initially appear unreceptive or even reject Christ outright, but this could change over time.  Remember, Jesus is the one who changes people’s heart—not you!  His ministry was marked by patience and persistent love for all people.  And Jesus calls us to be patient and persistent too as we seek to make disciples who follow Christ. 

Conclusion
Following Jesus means treasuring His teachings—really knowing what He wants of us and cooperating with the Holy Spirit to live it out.  These Sacred Truths are precious, and we should treat them with honor and respect.  Jesus calls us to share His love and truth with all people, because God loves everyone and He made everyone in His image.  But we need His wisdom about how and when to show our pearls to others.  We can’t just cast our pearls all around carelessly.  We must be patient and pray for God’s guidance to know when and how to share the sacred Truth of the Gospel with people.

So I challenge you to evaluate how you are taking care of your precious pearls.  Are you honoring the sacred and avoid the mud of worldly sin?  Are you walking closely with the Lord, so you will know how to share His Gospel with people?  Repent of your sin and live for Jesus.  For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

Closing Prayer
Lord, grant us wisdom and discernment, and a deeper understanding of Jesus' teachings.  Guide us in living out these precious principles so our actions reflect the transformative power of the Gospel. Amen.

 

Did Jesus Really Mean We Can't Judge People At All?

Introduction
When I arrived at church early Sunday morning, I was surprised to find a pickup truck parked crooked across the space where I normally park.  I thought it was sort of odd because no one is usually at church that early and people don't normally park in that spot.  Furthermore, the truck was taking up 2 spaces.  As I wondered what was going on and also noticed the lights inside the church were not on yet, our sound technician came walking out toward me and said, "Hey Chris.  I got here early to turn on the organ for Sarah (his wife).  It acts funny if it doesn't have a couple hours to warm up.  I wasn't sleeping well and decided to come on down and turn it on."

I'm gad I didn't judge Bobby for parking so badly this morning before I found out the whole story.  He wasn't worried about parking properly.  No one else was going to be at church and he would only be there a couple minutes.  So he just pulled in real quickly.  He's such a good husband to help out his wife like that--and to help out the church so we have a good sounding organ in worship.

Meanwhile, I go on in to my office and realize, I've had a small piece of toilet paper stuck to my chin the whole time I was talking to Bobby.  I nicked my chin shaving that morning and used the toilet paper to stem the blood.  I didn't expect to see anyone at church so early and didn't think about the toilet paper stuck to my chin as I was talking to Bobby.  Bobby never said anything about it.  I'm glad he didn't judge me either!

Matthew 7:1-5
¹ “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. ² For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

³ “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? ⁴ How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

Judging vs. Being Judgmental
Jesus words here are often misused and misunderstood.  Saying defensively, “Judge not lest ye be judged!” has become a common comeback when people get challenged on their bad behavior.  Did Jesus really mean we can’t call people out on their bad behavior or even make judgments of any kind? 

Absolutely not.  In fact, if you skip down just a few more verses in this same chapter, Jesus teaches people how to judge if someone is a false prophet.  He says you judge them by their actions.  There’s a difference between judgement and being judgmental.

Good judgment is a virtue the Bible applauds, and it is a valuable asset in life.  We need to use good judgment.  When a boy wants to date your daughter, you definitely need good judgment.  If the boy shows up acting high and wearing a t-shirt with a pot leaf on the front, good judgment says, "This boy is not taking my daughter out on a date!"  You have to have wisdom in like, which include using good judgment about people and situations.  Good judgment is based on facts about people’s behavior.  

Being judgmental is rushing to judge someone negatively based on limited information.  If you notice someone has parked their truck crooked.  Well, that’s a fact.  You can see the fact and know it.  But you need more information to make a good judgment about why the truck is parked crooked.  But the judgmental person won’t wait for more information.  They rush to judgment.  They might say:  “The person who parked that crooked is a bad driver or is inconsiderate or must be drunk.”  And when we are judgmental, there’s often a feeling of superiority attached to it.  We might say, “I would never park like that.  I'm not that kind of person.”

The meaning of Jesus teaching in Matthew 7:1-5 should be clear.  Don’t be judgmental.  He even uses a funny illustration to drive home the point. “Why worry about the speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own eye?”

We all have issues.  We are gracious with ourselves when it comes to our own faults, but we might not extend the same grace to others.  “My problems aren’t that bad because…  I have a reason for this bad behavior.  If people understood, they would excuse me.  But my neighbor’s behavior is truly annoying, disappointing, or appalling…”

Jesus points out vividly that our sins are no small thing.  How did He describe them?  He said they are like a “log in your eye”.  If you saw someone with a log in their eye, you would immediately call 911 and rush them to the hospital.  And that's the way Jesus described our spiritual condition!

Our sin is so rancorous it required Jesus to die for us on the cross.  That’s serious. But often, we would rather worry about everyone else’s sin than come to terms with our own.  It’s more comfortable to focus on everyone else’s sin than deal with our own.  But Jesus reminds us, we have a serious problem.  We need to be taken to a spiritual emergency room, not be worrying about the specks in our neighbor's eye.

Warning
Jesus gives a stern warning. He said, “The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.” This has at least 2 ramifications for your life. One for now. One for later.  If you are gracious, think the best of people, and give them the benefit of the doubt, people tend to be gracious with you too.  But if you are overly critical of others, you may be over-critical of you.  So there is an immediate benefit if you have a generous spirit with others.  

But there may be consequences for being judgmental later too.  We will all stand before Jesus one day.  As the Apostles' Creed says, "We believe Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead..."  Now that’s a sobering thought.  Especially when you consider Jesus words: “The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.”  How do you think Jesus will take it if you have been judgmental all your life with other people?  Why should he be gracious about your faults if you have refused to be gracious with others?

Conclusion
Now back to the log in your eye.  What can you do about that?  That’s why Jesus came.  I mean, you’ve got a log in your eye!  I’m not judging you.  I’ve got one in my eye too.  What are we gonna do about these logs sticking in our eyes!  That’s why Jesus came.

Here's the biggest log – Sin!  Not sins.  Sins are the bad things we do.  But the SIN is  rejection of God.  It is the attitude from which all the other bad behaviors flow.  We have turned away from God.  We don't not want Him to be in charge of our lives.  We want to live however we want to live.  We put ourselves above God.  That is the Sin that leads to all the other sins.  And Paul tells us in the letter to the Romans:
All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard.  
And the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ our Lord.
So call upon Jesus and be saved.  Believe Him in your heart and confess He is Lord with your words.
Take up your cross and each day and follow Him.

Jesus can remove the log from your eye (and from your neighbor's) if we will let Him.  But we have to repent, turn away from our sin, and let Him heal us.  Won't you do that today?

Did Jesus Forbid Lawsuits?

Introduction and Review
Last Sunday, we learned that Jesus didn’t come to do away with the Old Testament Law, but to fulfill it.  He said that unless you follow the Law more perfectly than the Pharisees, you can never enter into the Kingdom of God.  (If you missed that message, it will be helpful for you to go back and read to it - "Why Christians Follow Some Old Testament Laws But not Others")

Jesus said, unless you follow the Law better than the Pharisees, you can never enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:20).  Now the Pharisees were the holiest people in Jesus’ day.  Everyone looked up to them and respected them.  And Jesus’ followers would have thought it quite impossible to be more righteous than the Pharisees.  And that was the point.  Jesus was saying, “You can’t do it.  The Pharisees can’t earn their way into Heaven and neither can you!”

That’s why Jesus came.  Since we can’t fulfill the requirements of the law, Jesus came to fulfill it for us.  Since the penalty of sin is death (and we’ve all sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard), Jesus came and paid the penalty of our sin by dying on the cross for us.  His death atones for our sin and makes us right with God.

But to prove His point that we cannot follow the law perfectly (and so we desperately need Jesus’ help), Jesus give some real life examples to point out some of the ways we fall short.  The first example is about anger ad comes in Matthew 5:21-26. (We'll see some more examples in future blogs.)

Matthew 5:21-22
²¹ “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ ²² But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.

Jesus shows how incredible demanding is God’s perfect Law.  Of course, we can understand that we should not murder.  But lest we boast that we have never murdered, Jesus points out that the spirit of the Law requires more.  If you are angry at someone, you’ve broken the Law.  If you are driving down Cleveland Hwy and someone cuts in front of you and almost causes a wreck and you say, “You idiot!”, you will face judgment.  And if you curse at someone, you are dangling precariously over the fires of hell and it’s only a matter of time before you fall into it!  The perfect Law of God is that demanding.  And Jesus goes on.

Matthew 5:23-24
²³ “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, ²⁴ leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.

Here, Jesus is showing forgiveness and reconciliation is the most important act for God’s people.  In the Jewish religion of Jesus’ day, sacrifice in the Temple was very important.  People would travel for hundreds of miles (on foot) to visit the Temple to make a religious sacrifice.  It was a high and holy event.  But Jesus says there’s something even more important.  Even though your sacrifice was very expensive and you traveled many miles to offer it as the Temple that is held up as the most important place on earth, forgiveness and reconciliation is more important.  It is so important, in fact, that Jesus left the glory of Heaven to come down to our broken world, and to die on a cross for our sins so we can be reconciled to God and each other.

Matthew 5:25-26
²⁵ “When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison. ²⁶ And if that happens, you surely won’t be free again until you have paid the last penny.

This last part is often seen as Jesus’ practical advice for people in a lawsuit.  It makes sense.  If someone has a suit against you (and you are in the wrong, or maybe even just partly in the wrong), settle it out of court if you can.  You never know how it’s going to go in court.  Plus, honest people ought to be able to work out a fair agreement among themselves.  (Sadly, that’s not always the case since we are too broken by sin.)

But the Lord revealed something to me as I prepared for this message (and I checked it out and found there is another way of understanding this passage that gets at what Jesus is really saying).  This is more than just practical advice.  Jesus is using a metaphor about eternal judgement.

Matthew 5:25a
“When you are on the way to court with your adversary…”  We are all involved in a divine “lawsuit”.  You see, God’s Law is perfect.  And we have all broken it.  And the Bible often says the Devil is our accuser and adversary.  Satan is the prosecuting attorney who brings the case against sinful people to God.  Our great enemy, the Devil, shows all the evidence of our sinfulness to the Heavenly Court and points His accusing finger at our face, “He is guilty!  She is guilty!  And the penalty is death and eternal damnation!”

And what will you say when you find yourself on the judgment seat in the court of Heaven?  We have no defense.  We are indeed guilty.  As Jesus shows, we are guilty even if we’ve only ever been angry or called someone an idiot.

And so Jesus says, “Don’t wait until the Day of Judgment!  Then it will be too late.  Settle this matter now, while you’re still on the way to that Heavenly Court.  Here’s your chance.”

Here’s your chance, people.  Jesus is here now.  He came to offer grace.  He came to offer reconciliation with God and your fellow man.  It’s more important than worship or sacrifice.  It’s THE most important thing.

Reconcile with God through Jesus
So first off, we need to get our hearts right with God.  That starts when we turn to Jesus and repent of our sin.  We say, “Jesus, I will follow You as the Lord of my life.  I am no longer in charge.  You are.  I will follow You.  Please, forgive me for my sins and save me.”

When we do this, Jesus’ death on the cross washes away all our sin.  When the Devil tries to accuse you before God, there will be nothing left to find you guilty.  Your sins are gone.  You are innocent and holy before God.  But there’s more.

Now, we are called to live like Jesus in this broken world. We are ambassadors of peace and reconciliation. Jesus forgives our trespasses and so we forgive those who have trespassed against us.  And we are healed and there is healing in our world and the Kingdom of Heaven comes on earth.

No.  It is not easy to forgive people who hurt us.  It was not east for Jesus to die on the cross, but He did it.  And Jesus said in Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, and Luke 9:23, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.”  And so just as Jesus forgave us, we must forgive others. 

Closing
As we close, I want to first invite you to be reconciled to God.  Turn away from your sin and turn to Jesus.  Believe in Him and trust Him and follow Him as Lord and receive the grace and mercy and forgiveness He freely gives.  He will wash you clean of your sin so you are holy before God.  The Devil will have nothing of which to accuse you.  You will be innocent.

Second, I invite you to do the hard work of forgiving others.  Just as Christ forgave you, freely forgive those who have wronged you.  Do not be angry, for anger leads to wrath.  Instead, leave the judgment to God, for He is the only one qualified to judge.  As for you, be an ambassador of peace and reconciliations as is fitting for those who follow the Lord Jesu Christ.

For a incredible testimony of God's power and forgiveness that transforms lives, watch this video from Samaritans Purse about an orphan from Rwanda who gave his life to Christ and then forgave the people who murdered his family in the Rwandan genocide of the 1990s.

Ask Pastor Chris 3 - Questions About Judging

Introduction
            Ask Pastor Chris has been a fun and interesting message series fro me to preach. I have enjoyed receiving questions and talking with people about them over the last month. You can find some of the answers on my blog—PastorChrisMullis.com. Today I will address a few questions dealing with accountability, discernment, and being judgmental. This will be my last official message in this series, but you can always ask questions. I like to know your questions as it helps me know what to preach and teach about. Plus, I may write about some of the other questions on my blog, in our church newsletter, or in the bulletin. 

Matthew 7:1-6¹ “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. ² For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

³ “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? ⁴ How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

⁶ “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.

Understanding the Texts
            Boy, that Jesus has a way with words! Doesn’t he? “Why worry about the speck of dust in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own eye?”  Jesus warns us not to judge others. Or does he?  He does say you will be judged by the same measure you judge others. Which seems to mean, “Don’t judge, at all.” However, that also means you can judge, just that God will judge you by the same standard.  Jesus also says you can help your friend remove the spec his eye, but only after you remove the log from your own. So there is still the possibility of dealing with your friend’s problem.

            Jesus also goes on to say don’t waste what is holy on unholy people.  Jesus says “Don’t throw your pearls to pigs.” Well how do you know they are pigs unless you judge them to be pigs? Isn’t that judging?  I think about his advice whenever I am faced with a drunk person who wants me to give them advice or who wants to discuss deep topics like religion or philosophy.  Have you ever tried to give advice to a drunk person?  It's pointless.  Even if you can get them to understand, they'll likely to forget what you said once they sober up!   

Judging Believers vs. Judging Non-believers
            The Apostle Paul had something interesting to say to the Corinthian church about judging people. Listen to what he said in 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 – “12 It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. 13 God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”

            Are Christians supposed to have a double standard? Well, actually, yes!  Christians should hold each other to higher standards than people who do not believe in Christ. The problem within the church often is we expect non-Christians to live up to Christian standards. So we like to complain about the moral depravity of the people around us who don’t live the way Jesus says we should. Well, if they don’t believe in Jesus, why should we expect them to live the way Jesus teaches?

            Paul says we should focus on holding believers accountable and leave the judgment of unbelievers to God.  Christians need to hold one another accountable. It is a basic need of spiritual growth. A Christian friend recently asked me to hold him accountable for his foul language. He is a Christian and also a leader who people look up to. Yet, he has always struggled with using vulgar language. He recognized this and decided to make a change. He also recognized change would come easier if he had a Christian brother holding him accountable. He asked me and I have and he is getting better.

            Who is holding you accountable? Do you have a Christian brother or sister that needs you to hold them accountable?

Judgment vs. Being Judmental

           We need to recognize there is a big difference between what Jesus said about exercising judgment and being judgmental. People today love to quote Jesus and say, “Judge not, lest ye be judged!” Usually, they says this when they or someone they care about is feeling judged or self-conscious. A lady once came to my churches seeking money early in my ministry.  We were a small church and had no funds to help pay her $500 rent as she requested.  I told her this and started to explain how the Salvation Army in town could help her, but I didn't get the chance.  She stormed out of my office yelling "Well, the Bible says judge not lest ye be judged."  I was certainly not judging her; I was trying to help her.  Unfortunately, she was too self-conscious of her situation or had been rejected too many times and angry and stormed out misjudging my intentions.

            Jesus never meant we aren’t supposed to have good judgment. Quite the contrary, he taught we should be careful to judge people correctly—especially in a world full of liars, hypocrites, deceivers, and false teachers. In Matthew 7:15-17, Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.” Jesus taught how to make good judgments about people.  And he said this in the same passage where he warned us to be careful about judging people.  So we need discernment. Don’t let people guilt you into abandoning good judgment by their misguided admonition: “Judge not, lest ye be judged!”  

            Jesus warned us not to be judgmental. Having a judgmental attitude is different from exercising good judgment. Being judgmental is “having or displaying an excessively critical point of view.” It is the self-righteous, holier-than-thou attitude we sometimes have when we think we are better than someone else.  It can be as unintentional as judging a book by a cover. A friend of mine related how he sometimes wrongly pre-judged his soldiers when he was an infantry officer in the Vietnam War. He said, “The most unassuming guys turned out to be the best warriors, the most determined fighters and did their work without complaining.”

            You may not be a soldier, but you might misjudge your employees or co-workers or potential friends based on your preconceived notions. You might miss out on a very good relationship because you “judged a book by its cover” without really finding out who a person is.

            Another type of judging is when we think we are better than someone else. In a sick way, it makes you feel better about yourself when look down on someone else. However, you are only lying to yourself when you do this. The fact is, you are not better than anyone else. Thinking you are is unhealthy, mean, and simply evil. Furthermore, it is ludicrous. It is like pointing at someone derisively because they have a hole in their pants while you are walking around naked! This kind of judgmentalism blinds us to our own faults, while tearing down other people that God deeply loves and wants us to love.

            There is another kind of judgmentalism that is so ridiculous and yet so prevalent we almost all

do it. I call it “National Enquirer Judgmentalism.” Here, we are judge people we’ve probably never even met and know nothing about.  It is the politician or celebrity we gossip and speculate about. I’m not talking about trying to make an educated decision about who to vote for. I’m talking about the way we “entertain” ourselves with so-called “news” speculating about the politics, motives, and lifestyles of famous people.  We even make judgments about the character of more ordinary people who make the news. A police officer in Missouri allegedly shoots an unarmed black man and suddenly everyone has an opinion. You don’t know the officer or the black man or the community or anything at all about the situation (except what the “news” is telling you) and suddenly you are an expert with an opinion. Or maybe a woman allegedly poisons her husband in California and suddenly it’s a national gossip story and everyone’s talking about if she did it and why.  What business do we have passing judgment on these things?  Does it make any real difference to our lives here in Dalton, GA?  Is it up to us to make a judgment? Don’t we have enough to worry about already?  Perhaps we would all be better off not to stand in judgment of people we’ve never met, about things that don’t concern us, in places we’ve never been.

How Do We Stop Being Judgmental?
            Here now, Jesus’ warning judging starts to make sense: “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” But how do you stop being judgmental? Here are four tips that can help you stop judging others.
            First be aware you have a problem.  Here are some clues you might be judgmental:

• Do you put most people you meet in some category? (Young, old, religious, heathen, rough, liberal, conservative, etc.)  Labeling people is a good indication you have a judgmental attitude.
• Do you make judgments about people based on their appearance?  ("That guys got a lot of tattoos; he must be a rough character."  "She's too quiet.  She must be shy or stuck up."  "He's dressed up in a nice suit.  He must be rich."  "She's too fat.  She must be lazy.")  It's not a good idea to judge people on their appearance before you have a chance to get to know them.  And it's an indication you are being judgmental.
• Do you gossip about others?  Judgmental people often derive pleasure from gossiping about others.
• Do you form opinions based on what others say about someone?  This is another way we are judgmental.
• Do you have contempt for people who disagree with you?  This is something we struggle with greatly in our divisive world.  "Those liberals/conservatives/republicans/democrats are idiots!"  If this is you, you are being judgmental.
• Do you have a negative or distrustful outlook of people in general?  This is a common characteristic of judgmental people.

            Second, love yourself and don’t compare yourself to others. One of the biggest causes of being judgmental is our need to feel good about ourselves.  We put other people down--either to others or in our own mind--and it makes us feel superior.  This isn't much different from what a kindergarten bully does on the playground when they beat up or belittle a weaker person in order to make themselves feel better.  We don't need to compare ourselves to anyone else.  We are not better than anyone else, but no one else is better than us either.  We are all unique, special, people with great value and each of us is loved by God.  Find your worth in God's love and don't seek to bolster yourself by judging others.

            Third, try to understand and empathize.  Put yourself in someone else’s shoes. It's so much easier to judge people who are “not like us.” That’s why it’s easier to gossip about and judge celebrities, politicians, and athletes. We don’t see them as regular people like us. However, when we see someone as our brother or sister, we get less pleasure from putting them down. Try to understand people and feel what they feel and you will be less likely to judge them unnecessarily.

            Fourth, stop gossiping.  Gossip is a way we derive pleasure from our judgmentalism.  Don't indulge in the pleasure reward and you will have less reason to judge people.  It just wont be as fun.

Conclusion

            We all have our struggles.  Maybe some of you struggle with being judgmental.  Ask God to help you get rid of your judgmental attitude.  Recognize you have a problem.   Love yourself and stop comparing yourself to others.  Ask God to help you empathize more and judge less.  And stop gossiping.
            Perhaps you need someone to hold you accountable.  Tell someone you trust you are trying to be less judgmental and ask them to pray for you, encourage you, and hold you accountable (just like my friend asked me to hold him accountable for his language).
            Maybe as you're reading this, you realize you need to use better judgment.  God gave you a brain and intuition.  He wants you to use it.  Pray for discernment.  Get advice from trusted people.  And make a proper judgment about someone or some situation in your life.  Seek to make better judgments about your family, your job, or an important decision you need to make.  Don’t be afraid.  Ask God to help you and He will be your guide.