| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Mighty Prevailing Prayer” Our Bible verse for today: “But you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God … Therefore, let us no longer judge one another. Instead decide never to put a stumbling block or pitfall in the way of your brother or sister.” Romans 14:10; 13 (CSB) Our thought for today: “There is always one thing more” The notion of judging others is, unfortunately, often misunderstood and misapplied by many Christians. Sometimes we confuse judgment with accountability. It’s true that we are to hold each other accountable and we are to correct each other when we err, but that’s to be done gently and in a spirit of love. Matthew 18:15-17, Galatians 6:1, and 2 Timothy 2:23-26 are just three of the passages which provide us with instruction regarding what is commonly referred to as “The gentle art of correction.” Where many of us fail in this is by adopting a spirit of judgmentalism with regard to how we believe others are falling short. That is not based in love. It also is not kind and seldom expresses itself gently. Instead, it is often critical, nitpicking, and gossipy. That’s what Paul was cautioning against in Romans 14:10-13. We’re all prone to make unfair or inaccurate judgments about others. Often those judgments are based upon what we think we know about them from what we hear them say and what we see them do. But seldom does that give us a complete picture. C.S. Lewis once observed, “There is always one thing more going on in every person’s life of which you know nothing.” The fact is that people have issues. We don’t really know what other people’s lives are like. Every person you meet has something going on in their life that they wish wasn’t there, and those things impact how people conduct themselves. That isn’t an excuse for bad behavior, but it does serve to remind us that we need to cut people some slack. Instead of making judgments and even being critical of them, we should pray for them. And the worse they’re behaving, the more we should pray for them. When we pray for someone not only does it potentially create opportunities for the Holy Spirit to work in their lives, but God will use our prayers for them to sensitize us to the things that that person might be going through. Perhaps there were clues in their speech and conduct that we missed but now, in our prayer time, as we’re thinking about them, revisiting their words and actions, and lifting them up to the Lord in prayer, perhaps the Spirit will open our eyes and give us understanding about them that we didn’t have before. Remember, there is always one thing more going on in every person’s life of which you know nothing. So, pray for them rather than judging them. God Bless, Pastor Jim |
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