Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Judgmental Jerk Judged Not!

So a lot has changed in the last month and a half, but one thing remains the same. I'm an extremely judgmental person. Now when I say that, you might be shocked. "Josh Wingerd, judgmental? Yeah right." Or maybe you aren't shocked. I don't know. The point is, Jesus said something in Matthew 7 that has stuck with me this week: “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. For with the judgment you use, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Most people take this verse directly at face value, which is totally fine. It says, "Don't judge," and we add "others" in our minds. Unfortunately for me, I'm my worst critic. I can't look at someone else and say, "You don't deserve Jesus." Murderers, thieves, rapists, homosexuals--all are perfectly able to receive the grace of Christ; but I see myself and know my junk and say, "You don't deserve God. There's no way He loves you. There's no way anyone else will ever love you either."

So I judge myself as unworthy, but tell others they can be saved. This complicated the rest of verse 1. "So that you will not be judged." If I'm judging myself, then I'm very confused. It goes to show that our face value understanding is correct. "Do not judge [others] so that you will not be judged." And then the next verse punches me in the gut.

"For with the judgment you use, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." The way I judge others is the way I will be judged. If I judge them as able to receive God's grace, then I am too. This gives me hope. I don't have to say, "Wretched man that I am!" I can say, "There is no condemnation for me!"

I'm going to continue through life praising God for His grace over me, even if no one else wants to show me grace. Even if others want me to change every little detail about myself, I can look at the Bible and know that God is pleased with me right now.