Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Cor. 15:58

design

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Day 29: Rainbows and Kittens...

James 4:12-- God alone who has given the law is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?

**************************

Ok, confession... today's post is NOT about 'Rainbows and Kittens' (As the Title suggests..) However, be honest, if you knew that we were still on not judging,  would you have clicked the link to read today? 

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

Sorry for the deception, but this must be important.

Well... lets look back at that verse... James certainly gets right to the point, doesn't he?!

"What right do you have to judge your neighbor?"

And the answer is.....

No right at all.

We have absolutely no right under the sun or heaven above to judge anyone... not based on how they dress... not based on what they wear... and not based on their actions... it's not OUR job to Judge.

We are supposed to fullfill our part of the bargain-- to fullfill God's law which is "Love your neighbor"

Now, go back and read that... that doesn't say, "Love your neighbor---as long as they believe like me---"

It doesn't say, "Love your neighbor-- as long as they dress like me"

No....

Love. Your. Neighbor. Period

(Sorry to yell there.)

We have enough to worry about with our own soul much less judging anyone else's.

In the end, only God gets to have the final say-- be their/our final judge.

"Wow, Kelly, you are being harsh today"

Not at all.

Lets flip this around... it doesn't MATTER what OTHERS think of YOU/US.  They can think we have ugly clothes, not their equal, weird, stupid, whatever-- It doesn't matter.  Because the only opinion that DOES matter is God's opinion.  He is our one and only judge.

As hard as it is (and yeah, I know it's hard) lets do our best not to judge others.  And as hard as it is, lets not let others judging comments get us down.

My soul is mine.  Your soul is yours. Their soul is theirs. 

In the end, our souls are all we are left with (either in Heaven or... well.. not in Heaven).  Lets take care of them.  Pray and ask forgiveness when we make mistakes... when we judge people... when we know we've done wrong.

So what CAN we do when we see others sinning?  We can talk to them (lovingly) about the sin they are committing.  We can show them, through our actions, how we need to live.  And most of all, we can pray.  Prayer changes even the hardest of hearts.  When we can't get through, God can.

God Bless You!
(And encourage someone today :) )

Kelly

2 comments:

  1. Hi Kelly - Great post. I like that you flipped it. Sometimes when we see things from the other perspective, the penny drops. Oh yeah - we don't like to be judged, so don't judge others then.
    God bless
    Tracy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good truths here, Kelly. We are not to judge - period. I certainly don't want people judging me. Instead, let's live by the greatest commandment - love God with everything and love our neighbors as our self. Great post!

    ReplyDelete