Matthew 7:1 TNIV and James 3:1 TNIV

Here come the Judge, Here come the Judge

In our recent podcast we talked on the thought of Judging someone for the right reasons in the right way. We often hear people quote Jesus by saying, “Judge not least you be judged.” The sad truth of that verse is that people never finish it. The fullness is that it says,

Matthew 7:1-5 (New International Version)

Matthew 7

Judging Others

1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Why would we not want to truly help our brother to see clearly? We often offer the idea of no one can judge because we would rather not be corrected ourselves. I don’t write all this as a perfect example, I write as huge piece of shit who does what he knows is wrong time and time again.

My thought is that we the church would be so much farther ahead to offer ourselves as those pieces of shit in honesty. I have things in my life I have asked my friends to keep me from; pornography, lying, being an idiot with money, being an idiot with my time. I would give you a more complete list but I think you get the point. I will only become something more with the help of something more. I love the scene in the movie School for Scoundrels where Billy Bob Thornton asks a room full of dejects, “How many of you (Retards) own a self help book?” then he ends that thought with, “That’s your first problem, you can’t help yourself because yourself sucks!” The church has been a bad example of being a place people can come and get help, it looks more like a place you go after you got all your shit worked out on your own.

I offer you something new, come to Jesus as you are, not as you should be. Be part of a church that holds that philosophy, and be honest for a change, you just might change.

Friday, December 4, 2009